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HISTORY 



OF 



Company K 



First Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, 



DURING THK 



Spanish- American 

War. 



•f 



COMPILED BY 

Private George B. Thayer. 



HARTFORD, CONN.: 

Press of R. S. Peck & Co. 

1899 






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a? 



To 

the memory of 

MY SISTER 

FLORINE THAYER McCRAY 

who during her last illness did much to 
sustain and inspire me while in camp 

THIS WORK IS 
AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. 



To those who by pen or picture have 
aided him in this work, the writer grate- 
fully acknowledges his indebtedness. Many 
things were written under circumstances that 
tried men's souls; but time has softened 
some of the sentiments expressed and all 
resentment has vanished. And so the work 
has been prepared and issued in the spirit 
of Othello's last words: 

"Speak of me as I am ; nothing extenuate, 
Nor set down aught in malice." 



CONTENTS. 



Biographical, By Private George B. Thayer, . 9-58 

Statistical, " " " " " . • 59-6 1 

Personal, " " . • 62-93 

Individual, 94-i39 



Fort Knox — Fort Preble, By Private Alfred B. Pimm. 

Society as we found it, " Corporal Edward F. Sanderson. 

" Robert K. Vibert. 

" Corporal Ralph B. Pierce. 

" Private Edward C. Fowler. 

" Albert C. Fulton. 

" Edmund P. Nunan. 



Life of a Private, 
Confessions of a "Non-Com.' 
Among the Recruits, 
Array Rations, 
Treatment of the Sick, 



Chronological, By Private George B. Thayer, . I40-333 




CAPTAIN SAUNDERS. 
LIEUTENANT WATERMAN. LIEUTENANT VALENTINE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL, 



J- 



BY PRIVATE GEORGE H. THAYER. 



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CAPTAIN HENRY H. SAUNDERS. 

Does he not hold up his head and strut in his gait. 

— Shakespeat e. 

This excellent drill-master, than whom none better was in 
the regiment nor possibh' in the brigade, found his voice quite 
early in life and it is presumed at once instinctively cried, 

" Compan}', atten tion." This was in the city of Hartford 

some forty years ago and the compan}- then present paid strict 
attention, without doubt. His father, P. H. B. Saunders was a 
successful merchant tailor and upon his death, the business 
was carried on by Captain Saunders whose laudable ambition, 
both in civil and military matters, has ever since been to 
induce men to dress up. He joined Company K twent}' years 
ago and was elected captain in 1895. 

FIRST LIEUTENANT EDWARD H. WATERMAN. 

He is a soldier fit to stand by Caesar, and give direction. 

— Othello. 

Lieutenant Waterman first started for the front in the 
spring of 1858, following close upon the sun as it crossed the 
line in March. He lined up with Company K in 1879, rising 
from the ranks to his present position and making a model 
first sergeant on the way. Hartford has always been his home. 



£0 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

He was formerly with the firm of Wiley, Waterman and Eaton, 
printers and was one of the first to volunteer upon the declara- 
tion of war. He had an uncle on the famous flagship, 
Hartford. 

J- 

SECOND LIEUTENANT NATHANIEL G.VALENTINE. 

Business dispatched is business well done, 
But business hurried is business ill done. 

— Bulwer Lytlon. 

In 1863, in the midst of the Civil war, soon after his birth. 
Lieutenant Valentine at once engaged in business, the business 
of drawing rations For many years past he has been 
associated with the Beach Manufacturing Company as book- 
keeper and with the Hartford Tube Works as superintendent. 
He joined Company K many years ago and made the best 
quarter-master sergeant the company ever had. He has 
always lived in Hartford. Upon the muster out of the 
reo-iment, followed by the resignations of both Captain Saunders 
and First Lieutenant Waterman, Lieutenant Valentine was 
elected captain of Company K, C. N. G. 



FIRST SERGEANT SAMUEL G. HUNTINGTON. 

Like other charmers, he wooed the caress more dazzlingly when 
daring in full dress (uniform). — Byron. 

The Rose of New England, the beautiful city of Norwich, 
gave birth, some thirty years ago, to this member of Company 
K in whose ranks he has served faithfully for over eleven years. 
He comes of fighting stock, his great grandfather having served 
in the war of the American Revolution. For a number of 
years Sergeant Huntington has been connected with the Con- 
necticut General Life Insurance Company of Hartford though 
Portland has a strong attachment for him still. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. I i 

QUARTER-MASTER SERGEANT ROBERT L. BEEBE. 

Good uaturt- and good sense must ever join ; 
To err is human, to forgive divine. 

— Pope. 

In 1873 the great financial panic occurred during which 
many, especially in Boston, were crushed beneath the wheels 
of fortune or misfortune. A year later this amiable bank 
clerk appeared at the Hub and ever since the wheels of trade 
and money matters have run smoothly. 

Sergeant Beebe's father was in the Civil war, his uncle in 
the Mexican war and his great-great-grandfather helped to 
bring the war of the American Revolution to a successful close. 
How one so good natured could come from such fighting fore- 
fathers seems strange. Sergeant Beebe is now with the 
Connecticut Trust and Safe Deposit Company and has been in 
Compan}- K four years. Upon the return of the regiment 
Sergeant Beebe was promoted, first, to regimental quarter- 
master and soon after to paymaster, with rank of lieutenant. 



SERGEANT RICHARD VV. DeLAMATER. 

For his patriotism, it was fit, 

To match his learning and his wit. 

— Iludibras. 

Here is a member of Company K of eight years standing, 
a photographer by profession, whose uncle was in the navy 
during the Civil war and who had two great-great-grandfathers 
in the war of the American Revolution. It is hardly to be 
wondered at that there should descend from such good fighters 
a first class shot, — snap-shot. He now makes us see ourselves 
as others see us. He was born in Hartford twenty-six years 
ago, lives in Wethersfield and being a " trusty " is allowed at 
large outside the walls. He is a member of the firm of R. S, 
DeLamater & Son, photographers. Sergeant DeLamater has 
since been elected first lieutenant of Company K, C. N. G. 



12 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

SERGEANT HENRY L. HUNTINGTON. 

In arguing, too, the sergeant owned his skill, 
For, e'en though vanquished, he could argue still. 

— Goldsmith. 

This member of Company K like his brother, First Ser- 
geant Huntington, was born in Norwich, assuming early in 
life the color of the rose, — a red rose in fact from the Rose of 
New England. Later in life he was transplanted to the capital 
city and learned the trade of machinist, at the Pratt & Whitney 
Company. Like his brother he comes of good old Revolu- 
tionary war fighting stock. Sergeant Huntington has been a 
member of Company K over six years and is twenty-eight 
years of age. 

J- 

SERGEANT HENRY T. HOLT. 

A favorite has no friends, I guess nit. 

If that favorite is the captain's pet. 

— Gray. 

This favorite drill master has both English and Scotch 
blood to feel proud of. An uncle, Lieutenant J. A. Turnbull 
of Springfield, Massachusetts, served in the Civil war. Sergeant 
Holt is himself a son of Massachusetts, which explains why he is 
such hot stuff when there is any fighting to be done. He was 
born in Springfield twenty-four years ago and is now book- 
keeper in the /Etna National Bank. When the war broke out 
he had already served in Company K four years, and like the 
child, Samuel, " grew on and was in favor with his lord," the 
captain. Sergeant Holt has since been elected second lieu- 
tenant of Company K, C. N. G. 

J- 
SERGEANT JOHN D. BONIFACE. 

All people said he had authority. 

— Ti'imvson. 

While he says he never set forth to climb his ancestral 
tree, Sergeant Boniface has just the right solution of Irish and 



BIOGRAPHICAL, 13 

English blood in him to make a good fighter, rheumatism 
aside. He is a New Yorker by birth, passing his first physical 
examination at White Plains. He is an insurance clerk and 
Hartford is his home. He also was a member of Company K of 
four }'ears standing. 

J- 
CORPORAL CHARLES A. CARROLL. 

Eyes of gentianellas azure, 
Staring, winking at the skies. 

— Broivning. 

This natty member, was born in Hartford, of Irish parents, 
twenty-seven years ago. He had an uncle and several cousins 
in the Civil war and did his best to get mixed up in this. He 
has been three years in the company and many years as clerk 
with Smith, Bourn & Compan)', harness manufacturers. Cor- 
poral Carroll says he enlisted with the determination, as Macbeth 
puts it, to die, if need be, with a Smith, Bourn & Company 
harness on. 

CORPORAL FRANCIS M. JOHNSON. 

Alas ! in truth the man but changed his mind. 
Perhaps was sick, in love or had not dined. 

— Pope. 

Twenty-three years ago, at Newton, Massachusetts, this 
corporal, then a " little corporal," first began instructing in the 
school of the soldier, tising his toes as individual recruits and 
trying in vain to keep his squad in line. More recently he has 
been acting as salesman at the Pope Manufacturing Company in 
Hartford. An uncle, with the rank of major, served on the staff 
of General Sherman in the Civil war. All his ancestors were 
English as far back as the family record goes. While at Camp 
Alger Corporal Johnson did not enjoy the best of health much 
of the time. 



14 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

CORPORAL LOUIS SILVERNAIL. 

Comb down his hair ; look I look ! it stands upright. 

—Henry VI. 

The bald hills of Salisbury, Connecticut, gave birth to this 
shining member of Company K and the family characteristic 
still continues to be exemplified. Corporal Silvernail, a 
favorite with his present squad, was himself, some thirty years 
ago, a member of an awkward squad, then so awkward that 
while being taught the use of his arms he lost the control of 
his legs and frequently fell on his face. At the first oppor- 
tunity since, he tried to fall again, this time, not on his face, 
but on the enemy. 

For inany }'ears he has been in the office of the Plimpton 
Manufacturing Company. His ancestors were Dutch. 

CORPORAL CYRUS W. WHEELER. 

Thou know'st, great sou, 

The eud of war's uncertain. 

— Coriolanits. 

Corporal Wheeler certainly has reason to feel that the end 
of war's uncertain. For weeks after the return of the regiment 
from Camp Alger his life hung as in a balance and it was many 
weeks more before he had sufficiently recovered to get out and 
around. He was born at Woburn, Massachusetts, in 1875 and 
his business is that of traveling salesman. 

J- 

CORPORAL GEORGE K. DWYER. 

The ladies call him sweet ; 

The stairs, as his toes on them meet, kiss his feet. 

• — Lovers Labour's Lost. 

Corporal Dwyer, a little over twenty years ago, first cried, 
"Turn out the Guard" and without further formality 
announced himself The proper salute was given. This 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 1 5 

occurred in Hartford where the corporal has since Hved. He 
now occupies a position with the .Etna Life Insurance 
Company. His ancestors were Dutch, Irish and American, 
and he had several close relatives in the Civil war and a grand- 
father in the Mexican war. 



CORPORAL RALPH B. PIERCE. 

High air-castles he cunuiugly built of words ; 
The words well bedded in good logic mortar. 

• — Carlyle. 

Milton says architects need no Kings to make them happy 
but are the architects of their own happiness. This is true of 
the subject of this sketch. He never appeared otherwise than 
happy, particularly when discussing with the First Sergeant, 
the merits of his (Ralph's) Portland bill. 

Blackstone, Massachusetts, is his birth place and Hartford 
is still to be his home, his biographer is glad to know. Coiporal 
Pierce will be thirty years old before the end of the century. 
He is still drawing plans and building castles in the air, up 
eight stories in the air, in the Sage, Allen & Co. building, or 
was when this sketch was written. 

CORPORAL EDWARD M. WARD. 

For thy sake, Tobacco, I 
Would do anything but die. 

— Lamb. 

Corporal Ward's father served three years in Company K, 
Sixth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and 
his great uncle took a hand in the Mexican war. An ancestor 
also fought for American independence so that good old 
English fighting blood still runs riot in the family. Corporal 
Ward himself came within one of being born on Independence 
Day but his anxiet}' to be present at muster and inspection on 



l6 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

July 3, 1877, made him decline postponing the event lor twenty- 
four hours. The event occurred in Hartford. It is doubtful if 
Corporal Ward would again enlist, in case of another war, and 
run the risk of being deprived of his tobacco, for the indications 
are that black powder in the next war will be totally discarded 
and the men ordered to use nothing, but smoke less. 



^ 



CORPORAL THEODORh: GRUENER. 

I must to the barber's, for mcthiuks I am marvelously hairy about the 
face, (June 10.) — Midsummer N^ighfs Dream. 

This thorough going soldier, who served his ten years 
apprenticeship in military matters in the New Haven Grays and 
the Governor's Foot Guard, was born in New York city thirty- 
nine years ago while his parents were temporarily living there. 
For many years, however, he has been engaged in merchantile 
business in New Haven. Corporal Gruener's grandfather, the 
first of his ancestors to become an American citizen, took part 
in one of the European revolutions so frequent in the first 
half of the present century, for which he suffered a long im- 
prisonment. Upon being released he settled in America. 



CORPORAL WILLIAM F. CAMPBELL. 

Much may be made of a Scotchman if he be caught young. 

— BosiuelVs Life of yohiison. 

This one, then, was caught young but how old he now is 
the writer has, as they say in legal parlance, " no knowledge or 
information on the subject sufficient to form a belief." New 
York city, however, was his birth-place and Scotch and Irish 
blood percolates through his capillaries. Corporal Campbell 
also had some relatives in the Civil war. 



BioGRArmcAL. 17 

CORPORAL WILLIAM VV. LOW. 

I am nionarcli of all I survey. 

— Coioper. 

Another good soldier and a civil engineer came from the 
New Haven Grays to Company K, when Corporal Low joined 
the First Regiment and, like Corporal Gruener, he too was 
sorely disappointed in seeing other New England regiments, 
that both might have joined, sent to the front and the regiment 
of their choice broken up and kept near home. Corporal Low 
was born at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, twenty-eight years 
ago and came to New Haven not long after, graduating from 
Sheffield Scientific School as civil engineer. He had a grand- 
father and two uncles in the Civil war and an ancestor in the 
Revolutionary war. He was a member of the New Haven 
Grays three years. 



J- 



CORPORAL FREDERICK L. APPLETON. 

I cannot rest from travel. I ^vill drink life to the lees. 

— Te)i)tyson. 

About twenty-two years ago during the first Cuban insur- 
rection a volunteer presented himself at Chelsea, Massachusetts, 
for examination and the surgeon present signed the following: 
" I hereby certify that I have inspected the above named 
volunteer and that in my opinion he is qualified to perform the 
duties of a soldier." This volunteer was Corporal Appleton 
and the surgeon made no mistake in certifying to his soldierly 
qualities, then, however but slightly developed. His father, 
Captain Thomas L. Appleton of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, 
served in the Civil war as well as did an uncle in the navy. 
Since coming to Hartford, Corporal Appleton has been in the 
office of the Pope Manufacturing Company, but is still full of 
unrest and anxious to travel. 



1 8 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

CORPORAL EDWARD F. SANDERSON. 

He is the sweetest of all singers. 

— Ilid'ci'aiha. 

Cast thine emigrants upon the Western Reserve and their 
descendants shall return to Connecticut after many days. 
Moses Cleveland, a Connecticut surveyor, nearh' a century 
ago, laid out the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and now one of his 
sons returns to Connecticut to try and lay out the Spaniards. 
Would that this descendant of Moses had succeeded. Instead, 
however. Corporal Sanderson has energetically resumed his 
studies at the Hartford Theological Seminary and, like Moses, 
is stretching out his hand towards all that is to be read. See ! 
He is twenty-four years of age, has Scotch blood in his cir- 
culatory system, and a fine bass voice in his throat. 

J- 
MUSICIAN HENRY P. CAAIP. 

The trumpets loud clangor 

Excites us to arms. 

— Dryden. 

Trumpter Camp has always lived in the cit}' of his birth, 
Hartford. Some twenty-three years ago he first began sound- 
ing calls, usually at un-dress parade, and a certain style about 
him soon caused his commandant to do awa\' with dresses, 
altogether. So, this "young man" has ever since worn 
trousers. He is a machinist by trade. His ancestors were 
Scotch and English, some of whom fought in the Revolution- 
ary war. Three uncles also took part in the Civil war. 

MUSICIAN ROBERT R. ASHWELL. 

Drummer, strike up and let us march away. 

—Henry VI. 

Musician Ashwell, after exhibiting considerable dif^dence 
in the matter, finally drummed up courage to appear at Bloom- 
field, Connecticut, some nineteen years ago. One of his first 



BIOGRAPHICAL. I9 

acts was to answer the call " To arms " and later, when the 
company there assembled had been dismissed, he too 
immediately fell out, out of his cradle. Musician Ashwell is a 
cabinet maker by trade and doubtless will be called upon, 
soon, to form a cabinet for the president. His blood is wholly 
English and American and some of his ancestors served in the 
American Revolution. He also had relatives in the Civil war. 



J- 



ARTIFICIER GUY F. ROWLAND. 

The great artificier of all that moves. 

— Cow per. 

Artificier Rowland is described by Webster as " a soldier- 
mechanic attached to the service and designed to be employed 
in the construction and repair of military material." The state 
quarter-master's department apparently intended to keep 
Artificier Rowland busy, judging from the number of guns, 
tents, etc., which, when issued, were out of repair. Private 
Rowland was born in Hartford twent\--four years ago, of 
American ancestors, some of whom served in both the Civil 
and Revolutionary wars. 

Since the above was written, the true intent of the depart- 
ment, in issuing those perforated tents, has been disclosed. 
It was to dispose, in preference to other and better ones, of a 
lot of rotten, mildewed tents to the United States government, 
at full price — a bargain apparently justified because of its 
pecuniary benefit to the State of Connecticut. Now we know 
why it was we were compelled to seek shelter in such tentage, 
from the cold rains and sleet of the month of May. This 
seems the more unkind when we recall the fact that it was 
the act of an old veteran directed against a generation of 
younger ones. 



20 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

WAGONER EDWARD F. AHERN. 

We were two travelers, Jack and I ; 

Jack's my dog. 

— The ]^agabo)ids. 

Wagoner Ahem is a builder by trade. He began his 
profession in Hartford not far from twenty-four years ago, 
starting as a boy with building blocks till now, as a man, he is 
still building blocks. Before volunteering he had served five 
years in the Connecticut National Guard and upon the return 
of the regiment in September took Jack to his home and 
kindly cared for him till his death. (See Jack's biography.) 

PRIVATE CHARLES D. BARROWS. 

Work, feed thyself, to thine own powers appeal. 
Nor whine out woes thine own right hand can heal. 

— Crabbe. 

Private Barrows was born at Farmington, Connecticut, in 
i860, just before the breaking out ot the Civil war. He joined 
the F"irst Regiment, C. N. G. many years ago, serving one full 
term of five years in one of the New Britain companies. He 
is a machinist by trade but however thoroughly he understood 
the workings of an ordinary machine, his own physical system 
was out of repair most of the time, during the recent tour of 
duty. 

J- 

PRIVATE WILLIAM R. BARBER. 

He stands erect; his slouch becomes a walk. 
He steps right onward, martial in his air. 

His form, his movement. 

— Cowper. 

Private Barber was born at Mooers, New York, eighteen 
years ago. His ancestry is American and he had relatives in both 
the Civil and Revolutionary wars. Though he had no previous 



BIOGRAnilCAL. 2 1 

military experience, he carried himself like a true soldier, join- 
ing the company at Portland. He is an architect by profession, 
but realized the fact that if he volunteered and gave up his own 
draughting, Uncle Sam would be less likely to have to do any. 

PRIVATE ALFRED BARKER. 

" Ay," quoth my uncle Gloster, 

" Small beers have grace, great tanks do grow apace." 

—Richard I IT. 

Private Barker is, by profession, a dentist, having early in 
life displayed peculiar interest in the care of teeth by cutting 
his own. This was not far from eighteen years ago. He was 
born of American parents and has always lived in Hartford. 
He had a cousin in the Civil war but does not recall that any 
ancestor took part in the Mexican or Revolutionary wars. 



PRIVATE GEORGE G. BEAUCHAMP. 

I thought upon one pair of English legs 
Did march three Frenchmen 

—IIeu>-y V. 

" Gay Paree " gave birth to this member of Company K 
some twenty-one years ago but Hartford, though said not to 
be so gay a city, in time became the home of Private Beau- 
champ's adoption. An uncle served in the Civil war. Private 
Beauchamp is a blacksmith by trade and his willingness to 
serve and become a part of his adopted country in time of war 
indicates the welding is complete. 



PRIVATE MERTON VV. BASSETT. 

I am a soldier and hence unapt to weep 
Or to exclaim on fortune's fickleness. 

—Ileury VI. 

This member of Company K had four relatives in the 
American Revolution, five uncles in the Civil war, was himself 



22 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

a Hartford member of the Connecticut National Guard for three 
years and a half and yet was not satisfied to rest on his arms with 
this record behind him. Being a watchmaker by profession, 
he could not resist winding up his military career by striking a 
blow for Cuba. For this act and others he seems in no danger 
of running down in the favorable opinion of his friends. 
Private Bassett was born in Bristol, Connecticut, twenty-six 
years ago. 

J' 

PRIVATE HENRY E. BRYANT. 

Now, in the name of all the t,rods at ouce, 

Upon what meat doth this, our sleeper, feed, 

That he has grown so great. 

— Julius Caesar. 

Twenty years ago Private Bryant woke up in Hartford 
and has managed, in one way or another, to keep awake con- 
siderable of the time since. He served in the Connecticut 
National Guard two years and his father before him saw nearly 
five years service, in the infantry and artillery, during the Civil 
war. His ancestors were all English. Private Bryant is in the 
insurance business and being such a good eater and sleeper is 
put down as a first class risk. 

J- 

PRIVATE WILLIAM E. BRIGHAM. 

Though we be sick and tired and faint and worn, 

Lo, all things can be borne. 

—Elhahelh Akers. 

That tired feeling first took possession of the subject of 
this sketch early in life, some nineteen years ago, and has 
never completely let go since. Middletown, Connecticut is 
the place of his birth but Hartford now calls him her own. At 
present. Private Brigham is resting from the fatigues of Falls 
Church. He had two uncles in the Civil war and he traces his 
blood back to Scotch ancestry. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 23 

PRIVATE WILLIAM H. BROWN. 

Your hero should be ahva^'s tall, you know. 

— Churchill. 

This one first scanned the breadth and extent of the British 
Empire from the top of Brierly Hill, StatTordshire, England 
and has been trying to take a broader and broader view of this 
little earth ever since. Private Brown is now a sign writer and 
no modern sky scraper is much beyond his reach. He was a 
member of the Press Cadets at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for 
two years before joining Company K. 

PRIVATE DWIGHT E. BROWN. 

Worthy fellow; and like to prove most sinewy swordsman. 

— AlPs well that ends well. 

Private Brown was born at Simsbury, Connecticut, at a 
very early age. He took to arms from the first and presented 
a very soldierly bearing at his first annual inspection. He 
joined the company at Portland and stood by till the last when 
he fell sick with the fever, as so many others did. His 
business is that of clerk. 

J- 

PRIVATE FRANCIS C. BURNELL. 

What, is Brutus sick ; 
Or will he steal out of his disordered tent, 
Avoid the drill, on wliich he is not bent. 

— Julius Caesar 

Private Burnell was born at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, 
nineteen \-ears ago. He is now a student with his home in 
Hartford where he was once a member of the West Middle 
Cadets. He had ancestors in the Revolutionary war on both 
sides of the house and some near relatives served in the Civil 
war. Private Burnell has now fully recovered from a long and 
severe illness, the culmination of periodical fits of ill health 
which seemed to follow him through the entire term of service. 



24 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

PRIVATE JOSEPH BURNELL. 

'Tis the soldiers life 
To have their balmv slumbers waked with strife. 

^Othello. 

Private Burnell is, by birth, a Canadian, having been born 
at Montreal in 1870. He came to Hartford later in life and 
learned the trade of polisher. Possibly this explains the cause 
why so many balmy slumbers at Camp Alger were 
waked with strife. The polisher, in trymg to wear off the 
rudeness and rusticity of his tent mates, created considerable 
friction — in other words, strife. In the morning, however, on 
the surface all was smooth and serene. 

J- 

PRIVATE HENRY L. BORLAND. 

What sweet delight a quiet life affords. 

— Drunimond. 

Twenty-two years ago, at Yonkers New York, Private 
Borland quietly took his place in line and if he cried at all it was 
to simply say "Here." His father served as captain in the 
Civil war, descending from good old fighting Scotch blood. 
Private Borland is a machinist, employed in Hartford and 
living at Thompsonville. 

J- 

PRIVATE ARCHIE L. CANNON. 

Caunon to the right of them. 
Cannon to the left of them, 
Cannon in front of them, 

Volleyed and thundered. 

— Tennyson. 

No one blundered, however, when Private Cannon was 
proposed for membership of Company K, nearly five years 
ago, nor has this Cannon ever thundered since, though he 
came near saying, " By thunder " at Portland once, when his 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 2$ 

fingers were split open trying to catch what he claimed was 
Cannon's ball. Private Cannon was born at Russell, Massa- 
chusetts, twent}'-four years ago of English ancestry. An uncle 
served through the Civil war. 

PRIVATE FRANK J. CADWELL. 

Turn, turn my wheel I Turn round and round 
Without a pause, without a sound. 

— Lou'^fellozv. 

Those large "loving" eyes of Private Cadwell first opened, 
and took a sort of peep sight as it were, at P21mwood, Connec- 
ticut, nineteen years ago Ever since they have been peeping 
into the hearts of the " enemy " but have never yet caught 
sight of a Spaniard, much to his regret and ours. His father 
served in the Civil war in an Ohio regiment. His ancestral 
blood is a mixture of Scotch and English. Private Cadwell is 
also widel}' known as a record breaking wheelman. 

PRIVATE ROBERT A. CASE. 

Mother, O mother, my heart calls for you. 

— Rock me to sleep: 

Private Case (R. A.) still survives in the town of his birth, 
East Hartford, though he expresses a strong desire to be buried 
elsewhere. May no spot on earth, however, receive his 
(cigarette) ashes for several scores of }'ears at least. Corporal 
Austin A. Case, an uncle, served in the Twenty-first Connecticut 
during the Civil war and another imcle was in the Union cav- 
alr\'. Private Case also had ancestors in the Revolutionary war 
and that of i8i2. English and Scotch blood mingle in his 
make up. "Mother" Case, as he was familiarly called, had been 
a member of Company K nearly two years. Though a good sol- 
dier. Private Case always disliked that general order which com- 
pelled him to salute all colors or standards and officers not Cased. 



26 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

PRIVATE WILLIAM O. CASE. 

Blue ! Tis the life of heaven, — the domain of Cynthia. 

— Keats. 

Private William O. Case was born at Granby, Conneclicut, 
thirty years ago, his paternal ancestors coming from the state 
of his birth and his maternal from the state of Maine An 
nncle died of fever while with his regiment in Virginia during 
the Civil war. His great-grandfather also fought in the 
Revolutionary war. While the poet seems to think blue is the 
natural domain of Cynthia, as Private Case was familiarly 
called, the members rarely if ever found him in that condition. 
For several years he has been stenographer for the Hartford 
Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. Private 
Case is such a capital fellow a printer would say he came from 

the upper case. 

J* 

PRIVATE HENRY H. CHAMBERLIN. 

A Rose my red, red Rose ! 
Where has thy beauty fled? 

—A Red Rose. 

Private Chamberlin was one of the smaller members of the 
company and necessarily, from early childhood, he always had a 
short memory, For instance, he failed, early in life, to observe 
his general orders in not walking in a military manner and it is 
said, he did not report every breach of his trousers which he 
had busted by force. He was born in Hartford twenty-two 
years ago and joined the company at Portland. His occupa- 
tion is that of bookkeeper. 

J- 

PRIVATE LAWRENCE A. CONVERSE. 

First Sergeant. — " How does your patient, doctor." 
Rathbun.- — " Not so sick, ni}^ lord, 
As he is troubled with thick-comiu"; fancies" (just before drill.) 

—Mcn-helh,Act l\ Sr. j. 

Private Converse has lived in Hartford much longer than 
many of the shorter members of the company. In fact, there 



BIOCiRAPIIICAL. 27 



111 



ay have been something about his birth-place, Long Meadow, 
Massachusetts, to cause him to hve so long or rather, grow so 
tall. He first began to complain of not feeling well some 
nineteen years ago but has had spells of being in good health 
ever since. He had three uncles in the Ci\'il war. 



PRIVATE HOWARD S. CLAPP. 

I\Iay that soldier a recreant iDrove, 

That means not, hath not, or is not in love. 

— S/ta/cc'spea re . 

Another Massachusetts man, born at Hanani, twenty- one 
years since, and now night watchman at the Hotel Adams, 
Worcester, Massachusetts. He takes pride in the Yankee blood, 
undiluted, that courses through his system and ma)' well men- 
tion the fact that an uncle served with Custer in the Indian wars. 
Private Clapp's experience with Company K was his first 
military venture, thus showing his love for his country, at 
least, by volunteering. 

PRIVATE MINOTT C. DENNISTON. 

Nightly sings the staring owl, To-\vho 
Tu-wit, to-who, a merry note 

— Love'' s Labour Lost. 

In the Revolutionary war Private Denniston had a great- 
grandfather. In the Civil war his father and an uncle saw ser- 
vice and the son saw to it that his generation should not be 
unrepresented in this war. He was born in Washingtonville, 
Orange County, New York in 1872, and is, by trade, a civil 
engineer. He was also one of the quartet of sweet singers in 
the Denison tent at Camp Alger, filling as a civil engineer 
might express it, the part, not exactly of a gunner's but of a 
soldier's quadrant. 



28 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

PRIVATE FRANK E. DENISON. 

How shall we rank thee upon Glory's page? 
Thou more than soldier and just than less sage. 

— Moore. 

Now we come to some fighting stock from 'way back. 

From a full blooded Norman, possibly one of those who 
came over and fought with William the Conquerer, there has 
descended a line of Denisons to be proud of. First there was a 
Denison in both the Revolutionary and the Mexican wars; thv'in 
George E. Denison, father of Frank and "Fritz," served all 
through the Civil War and now his two sons make the same 
offer for this. Surely the Denisons are hot stuff. Frank is 
twenty-six years old and was born and has always lived in 
Hartford. 

PRIVATE FREDERIC R. DENISON. 

Stay, little cheerful Rol)in ! Stay, 

And at thy window sing. 

— IVordsTi^'ort/t. 

The English poet when he penned those words, possiby with 
a prophetic eye, saw " Fritz," sitting at the window in his little 
pine arbor at Camp Alger and heard the fine harmon)' that 
came from the throats of the male quartet within. If Words- 
worth didn't hear, the writer at least did, many and many a 
night, much to his delight. What is true of Frank's fighting 
blood is also to be said of Fritz's. Both are associated with 
their father, a contractor and builder, who by frequent visits to 
camp followed the fortunes of Company K closer than a brother. 
Fritz is twenty-three years old. 



PRIVATE HOWARD L. DICKINSON. 

Man wants but little here below, 
Nor wants that little long. 

— Goldsnnth 

Company K seemed to want little men judging from the 
fact that two or three fours of short men were welcomed to its 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 29 

ranks. Nor was there ever a time when the company wanted 
those Httle men long. The " Httle runts " got there every time, 
short as they were and " Little Dickey" w^as always among the 
number. His first appearance among little folks was at Marl- 
borough, Connecticut, nineteen years ago and East Hartford 
is now his home. His father served in the Civil war, his 
ancestors coming from England and Scotland. Private Dickin- 
son's business was that of window dresser at Fox & Co.'s dry 
good store. 

J- 

PRIVATE CLARENCE J. DRISCOLL. 

He bears a duke's revenue on his back 
' And in his heart he scorns our poverty. 

—Henry Vf. 

Private Driscoll, in the Civil War, had a father, grand-father 
and two uncles — a pretty good record for one family. The 
son's record in this war was all right, too. He dropped the 
business of selling yeast and tried to raise the standard of the 
company by enlisting under its flag. Down at the kitchen, they 
say at mess he was like unto an oven into which he took and 
hid three measures of rations at a meal, till the whole supply 
was leveled. Furthermore, he had one advantage over the 
other members in their quiet little games at Camp Alger, to wit : 
He always knew how to raise the dough. The " Duke " is 
traveling salesman for the Fleischmann Yeast Company. 



PRIVATE JONATHAN E. ENO. 

Farewell! Eno's fighting occupation 's gone. 

— Othello 

Private Eno comes of unadulterated American ancestry, 
all his forefathers having come to this country previous to 1700. 
He had two great-grand-fatheis in the Revolutionary war and 
his father. Captain Eno, was provost marshal during the Civil 



30 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

war. He was born some twenty years ago, in the old town of 
Simsbury, Connecticut, and was brought up in a farming 
community, first acquiring, in his very early childhood, the art 
of milking. 

J' 

PRIVATE EDWARD C. FOWLER. 

Surtlv, He shall deliver us from the snare of the fowler. 

— Psalm gi:j. 

If Company K had no more to fear from the noisome 
pestilence of Camp Alger than from the snare of this fowler, 
the command would have feared nothing. A more reliable 
member was not in the company. He descended from 
English and Dutch ancestors, had a great-grand-father in the 
War of 1812 and an uncle in the Civil war. Private Fowler 
was born at Cornwall, Connecticut and his home is now in 

Bloomfield. 

J- 

PRIVATE ALFRED M. FISHER. 

Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord. 

— Jeremiah lO: 1(1. 

Four years under military instruction at Paris, France, was 
the experience of Private Fisher previous to joining Company 
K and this went far towards excusing him from the schooling 
necessary in the awkward squad. He was born at Syracuse, 
New York, twenty-three years ago and will make New York 
City his future home. By trade he is an electrician. 

PRIVATE ALBERT C. FULTON. 

Give him great meals of l)eef and iron and steel, he will eat like a wolf 

and fis^ht like a devil. 

—Henry V. 

About the time that the great general of the Civil war 
was upon the point of leaving the presidential chair, another 



BiOGRArincAL. 31 

soldier of equal greatness, in some respects, presented himself 
for militar}' duty at Indianapolis, Indiana. This was Private 
Fulton who, as the writer knows, is as big-hearted as others in 
the company think him, a great-eater. He is now a student at 
the Hartford Theological Seminary. Both his father and grand- 
father served in the Civil war. 



PRIVATE FRANK E. FULLER. 

It takes a fuller to groove a bayonet. 

— IVel'sUr. 

When the Mayflower landed in 1620. Company K was re- 
presented, in embryo, in the form of the Scotch and English an- 
cestors of Private Fuller. Later, an ancestor fought for American 
Independence; still later, in the war of 18 12, a great uncle took 
a hand and in the Civil war three uncles served their country, 
one as first sergeant in the Twenty-fifth Connecticut. Private 
Fuller was born at Odel, Illinois, twenty-three years ago, now 
lives at Windsor, Connecticut and has turned his hand both 
to dentistry and carpentering, pulling teeth and drawing nails. 



^ 



PRIVATE HENRY C. GILLETTE. 

A better soldier never couched lance; 

A gentler heart did never sway in camp. 

—Henry 17. 

At the age of nineteen, this lovable lad is found serving his 
country in time of war, the supreme act which can fall to the lot 
of an}' man to perform. He had relatives in the Civil and ances- 
tors in the Revolutionary wars but had, himself, no pervious 
military experience. His ancestors were F"rench and English. 
Private Gillette was born in Hartford and is now in tlie ofifice of 
the Pope Manufacturing Company. 



32 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

PRIVATE JAMES P. HYNES. 

vShall I ask the brave soldier who fights by mv side, 
In the cause of humanity, if our creeds agree. 

— Moore. 

Private Hynes was born at Borris, County Dublin, Ireland, 
nineteen years ago. He came to this country several years 
since and settled in Hartford. Besides undergoing the fortunes 
of a soldier, he has experienced many other ups and downs in 
life. He runs the elevator at the Linden. An uncle served in 
the Civil war. 

PRIVATE HENRY H. HALL. 

Ay me! what perils do environ 
The man that meddles with cold iron. 
What plaguy fever and mishap 
Do dog him as an after-clap. 

— Iliidibras 

Private Hall, by his military bearing, exhibited the effects 
of three years training at the Riverview Military Acadamy, 
Poughkeepsie, New York. An uncle served in the regular army 
during the Civil war, ranking as lieutenant colonel, and an 
ancestor fought for American Independence. Private Hall's 
maternal ancestors were north of Ireland folk and his paternal 
ancestors came to this country before 1650. He is twenty 
years of age, was born at Short Hills, New Jersey, and is now 
clerk in the insurance agency of his father, James P. Hall, who, 
by frequent visits and opportune offerings, remembered Com- 
pany K more than once in its hour of need. After his return 
home Private Hall fell sick with the prevailing fever. 

J- 

PRIVATE WILLIAM H. HATTON. 

To be slow in words is only a virtue. 

7'ri'(5 CjLiitlenicn of ]'crona. 

Private Hatton was born at Yonkers, New York twenty-five 
yeais ago. Before he had left his cradle he had learned his 



r.IOGRAPIIICAL. 33 

general orders, or some of them. At night he ahvays exercised 
the greatest vigilance and long before broad daylight was 
challenging persons seen around or near his bed post. His 
ancestors were pure English. Hartford is his home, where he 
is employed with the Pope Manufacturing Company. 



PRIVATE EDGAR G. HAYDEN. 

My long sickness 

Of health and living, now begins to mend. 

— Timon of Athens. 

Private Hayden was born in East Hartford about twenty- 
one years ago, and still continues to make that town his home. 
He had two years of previous military experience in a military 
school, and had relatives or ancestors in both the Civil and the 
Revolutionary wars. He has not as yet recovered sufficiently, 
from his long sickness to warrant his undertaking any business. 

PRIVATE JAMES D. HENDERSON. 

Then and not till then, he felt himself, 

And found the blessedness of being, little. 

—Henry VIH. 

This member in the ranks of the "little runts" comes of 
Scottish blood. In the city of Hartford he first took his place 
at the left of the line, where all little folks are told to be seen 
and not heard (they are not ashamed to be seen, either — ask 
any one of the little runts). Private Henderson has alwa}'s 
lived in Hartford, and is a pressman by trade. 

J- 

PRIVATE EBEN C. HOLLIS. 

Is this a dream ? O, if it be a dream. 

Let me sleep on, and do not wake me yet. 

— Spanish Student. 

Private Hollis awoke from his first trance twenty-one 
years ago at Worthington, Massachussetts. Since he came, as 



34 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

a builder, to help build up Hartford, as a rule he has success- 
fully resisted the tendenc)' to fall into the hypnotic state. He 
served two years in Company K before volunteering, and had 
an uncle who served in the Civil war. He is of the firm of D. 
W. Hollis & Son, builders. 

J- 
PRIVATE ROBERT M. HUMPHREY. 

O, it is excellent 
To have a giant's strength. 

—Measure for Measure. 

Private Humphrey was born in Burlington, Connecticut, 
twent}--four years ago, descending from sturd}^ English and 
Welsh ancestry. He had two uncles and a cousin who served 
in the Civil war, but knows of none taking part in the Mexican 
or Revolutionary wars. He had no previous military experi- 
ence, but Holyday aptly describes Private Humphrey when he 
says his "strength must be either of love or war."' We will 
call it war. 



PRIVATE EDWARD VV. JUDSON. 

Let us sing by the camp lire 

Ever higher, 

Sing till the night expire. 

— Longfellow. 

Here is a member whose ancestors were Connecticut 
Yankees from 'way back. Private Judson, himself, was born at 
Woodbury, Connecticut, twenty-four years ago. He had had 
some experience at a military academy before volunteering. 
His profession is that of an electrician but Compan}' K will re- 
member him as a sweet singer — long remember him as the tall- 
est of the Denison quartet, so tall, in fact, that he could easily 
carry the air, however high the notes. Hartford is his home. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 35 

PRIVATE WILLIAM C. JOHNSON. 

Brother should not war with brother 
But worry and devour some other. 

— Cooper. 

Private Johnson was born at Newton, Massachusetts, the 
birthplace of his brother, Corporal Johnson. He also went to 
war with him but did not war with him, as the poet seems to think 
brothers some times do. Private Johnson had several years ex- 
perience in the Connecticut National Guard. His uncle, Major 
J. B. Bell, served in the Civil war. " Will " is now perpetual 
inventory clerk at Pope's. May he occupy the position so long 
as perpetual inventories exist. He is twenty-four years of age. 



PRIVATE EDWARD G. KOBER. 

Thanks to the gods! My boy has done his duty. 

- -Addison. 

Private Kober, a post office messenger, volunteered with the 
other recruits and, as in the case of Private Sarvan, another 
post office messenger, not long after the coming of these mes- 
sengers Santiago surrendered and the peace protocol was signed. 
They seem to have both been messengers of peace, then, and 
we can now sing, in the words of Mendelssohn's " St. Paul," 

" How blessed are the messengers that teach them (the 

Spaniards) the gospel of peace." Private Kober delivered his 

first message, announcing to his happy parents his safe arrival, 

about eighteen years ago, in the city of Hartford. He had a 

grand-father in the Civil war and a great uncle in the Mexican 

war. 

)t 

PRIVATE ROBERT KIRKLEY. 

Both plain and without pomp 

And rich without show. 

—Dryden. 

Private Kirkley's biographical data are as brief as his pre- 
vious military experience was short. He says he had had no 



36 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

militan^ experience whatever before joining the awkward squad. 
We must take his word for it, though he quickly caught on to 
the manual and movements afterwards. He was born in Eng- 
land twenty-three years ago. 



PRIVATE JOHN B. KNOX, Jr. 

A polished perturbation I Sleep with it now ! 
He, whose brow, with homely night-cap bound, 
Snores out the watch of night ! 

—Henry IV. 

When Shakespeare thus referred to King Henry, could he 
have also had in mind the polished snorer of Company K? 
Possibly, for he exclaims, "Sleep with it!" as if the very 
thought was a nightmare. But this can be said to the credit 
of Company K's snorer. Like Macbeth, one who can so con- 
stantly murder sleep is not afraid to fight. Private Knox is 
nineteen years of age, was born of Scotch and French ances- 
tors, and always lived in Hartford ; had five years' experience 
as a West Middle cadet and one year in the Connecticut Na- 
tional Guard, and is now in the insurance business. 

.^ 

PRIVATE MYER LANDERMAN. 

This disturber of our sleep 
Buzzes in the people's ear. 

— Sliakespcare. 

Private Landerman is of Hebrew blood, was born in 
Russia eighteen years ago, and later was engaged in making 
bicycles in Hartford. As a disturber of the peaceful sleep of 
the people of Camp Alger, there is considerable discord of 
opinion, and the final decision must be left to his tent mates. 
His military experience, up to the time of volunteering, was as 
a cadet at the Good Will Club. Since being mustered out he 
has joined Company C, First U. S. Infantry, and was ordered 
to Cuba. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 37 

PRIVATE OTIS D. MARION. 

Stil] to be neat, still to be drest, 
As you were going to a feast. 

— 77; e Silent I Fo man 

Private Marion has succeeded in tracing his paternal 
ancestry back to France and his maternal back to England. 
His success in that line of work possibly may have had its 
effect in securing him the position of tracing clerk for the 
N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R.. which position he now holds. He 
has been a member — one of the neatest dressed members — of 
Company K for two years. He was born at North Woburn, 
Massachusetts, twenty-one years ago and now lives in East 
Hartford. In the Revolutionary war, Private Marion had an 
ancestor. 



PRIVATE EUGENE T. MARVEL. 

I looked upon her with a soldier's eye. 
But now I am returned and that war — thoughts 
Have left their places vacant, in their rooms 
Come thronging soft and delicate desires. 

— Much Ado About Xothiug. 

An electrical worker, born at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, 
and now a resident of Hartford ; French paternal ancestor and 
h2nglish maternal; a father in the Civil war and a maternal 
ancestor in the Revolutionary. Such, in brief, is the biographical 
sketch of Private Marvel, now in his eighteenth }'ear. 

PRIVATE MICHAEL E. McGRATH. 

I smelt roast meat, beheld a huge fire shine, 
A cook in motion, with his clean arms bared. 

— I'>ou yuan. 

Private McGrath, the compan)' cook, had five years' ex- 
perience in the regular arm\', in the far west, before joining 
Company K. He was born at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, 



38 BIOGRAnilCAL. 

in 1865, and is now emplo}'ed at Ingraham, Swift &: Co.'s beef 
establishment, where, because of Mac's modesty, the men 
handle all the hind-quarters of beef and legs of mutton, dressed. 
The writer can add nothing as to the capabilities of Private 
McGrath as compan}- cook The unanimous opinion of the 
members of the company, as expressed in another part of this 
history, is the highest tribute that can be paid him. 

J- 
PRIVATE JOHN McKONE 

Death is the universal salt of states, 

Blood is the base of all things — law and war. 

— -Bailey. 

This student of the law hoped, in common with the rest of 
the company, to also become versed in the art of war but like 
the others was disappointed. He returned at once to the study 
of law at Washington, D. C. upon coming home from Camp 
Alger. Private McKone is twenty years of age and was born 
at Hartford where his home still is. An uncle, during the Civil 
war, died in that hell, Andersonville prison. 

J- 
PRIVATE ROBERT A. McKEE. 

" Is there no hope " the sick man said. 
The silent doctor shook his head, 
And took his leave with signs of sorrow, 
Despairing of his fee tomorrow. 

— The Sick Man and the Afigel. 

Private AIcKee is a drug clerk, twenty-three years of age, 
and during the company's tour of duty, was detailed as a 
member of the hospital corps where he served efficiently. His 
home is in Hartford and he is of Scotch ancestry. He also had 
relatives in the Civil war. Though a drug clerk. Private 
McKee's duties at Camp Alger and later at Niantic were far 
from being so slight as to cause him to exclaim with Byron 
" with pleasure drugged, I almost long for woe." 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 39 

PRIVATE JAMES McLAUGHLIN. 

Among comnion folk the law of sacrifice taices the form of positive duty. 

— Fronde. 

Private McLaughlin was born in Hartford and at the age 
of t\vent}'-one made the greatest offer that lies within the power 
of man to make — his life for his country. His ancestors were 
Irish. Private McLaughlin is now engaged as salesman in 
Hartford. 



PRIVATE PETER J. MOLLOV. 

Wisely and slowl They stumljlc that run fast. 

— Romeo and yuliet. 

Private Molloy was born on the " old sod " twenty-two 
years ago and he never has let the grass grow under him since, 
neither while escaping from court martial at Portland nor while 
running the private canteen at Camp Alger. His nearest relatives 
in the Civil war were cousins. His business is that of waiter. 



PRIVATE JAMES L. MORAN. 

Maintain your post; that's all the fame you need. 

—Drydeu. 

Private l\Ioran had some experience with munitions of war 
before enlisting, having been employed in a cartridge factory at 
Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was born at Scranton, Penns\'l- 
vania, in 1877, of Irish ancestors and had an uncle who served 
in the Civil war. Private Moran was one of the faithful 
recruits, of whom Burke says, "The state is to have recruits to 
its strength and remedies to its distempers," but, like some other 
members of the company, Private Moran himself fell a victim 
to the prevailing ''distemper," t)'phoid fever, luckil}', however, 
recovering after a time. 



40 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

PRIVATE JEREMIAH MORGAN. 

We came into this world like brother and brother ; 
And now let's go hand in hand, not one before another. 

■ — Comedy of Errors. 

Here is another son of Ireland ready to fight for the 
country of his adoption. Private Morgan was born in Ireland 
twenty-two years ago, and came to this country with his 
brother, Joseph, both of whom were among the stalwart recruits 
that joined the company at Portland. Since coming to this 
country Private Morgan has been employed as watchman, 
which, possibly, accounts for his readiness at Camp Alger in 
answering "All's well" when the call, in biblical language, 
was, "Watchman, what of the night." 

J- 

PRIVATE JOSEPH MORGAN. 

The Romans were like brothers 

In the brave days of old. 

— Ma i a 21 ley. 

Private Morgan, like his brother, Jeremiah, offered to fight 
for his adopted country, and both alike were disappointed in 
not reaching the front. Joseph was also born in Ireland nine- 
teen years ago. Since coming to this country he has acted as 
"elevatorer," an occupation which consists in lifting men till 
they become tipsy, if we may believe Walter Scott, who tells 
of the "elevated cavalier" who "sent for two tubs of merr\' 
stingo." 

PRIVATE REUBEN H. MORLEY. 

A-sleep-in' Jesns, blessed sleep. 

— SncrcJ Hvmu. 

Private Morley was born at Saginaw, Michigan, twenty- 
two years ago, where he has since lived. He entered Yale, 
but gave up his course of study when the war broke out. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 4I 

When the company was sent to Portland Private Morley, in 
his effort to get nearer the firing line, succeeded in getting 
transferred to the 32nd Michigan, then stationed in Florida. 
There he remained with his regiment, however, till November 
10, when the regiment was mustered out. " My transfer," he 
writes, "did not get me to the front, as I so fondly hoped, and, 
needless to say, I am pretty sore." Private Morley is of 
English descent and had relatives in both the Revolutionary 
and Civil wars. 



PRIVATE EDMUND P. NUNAN. 

I will attend my mate, Ije his nurse; 
Diet liis sickness, for it is mj' office. 

— C 'om edy of Errors. 

Private Nunan was born at Terryville, Connecticut, twenty- 
seven years ago and is now clerk in the dry goods store of 
Brown, Thomson & Company, Hartford. His ancestors were 
Irish and, like many of that hot fighting blood, if Private Nunan 
could have got at the Spanish army there would have been a 
terrible mix up. The gentler side of his nature, however, had 
an opportunity to assert itself when Private Walsh fell sick at 
Camp Alger with the fever, for then it was that Private Nunan 
stayed behind and nursed him like a mother. 

PRIVATE EDWARD M. OVIATT. 

Beneath the rule of men entirely great, 
The pen is mightier than the sword. 

— Bukoer Lyiton. 

Private Oviatt has used a pen. He is a newspaper man. 
Immediately upon the arrival of a certain Hartford newspaper 
at Camp Alger one afternoon in August, an order was issued 
compelling the members of the regiment to vote upon the ques- 
tion of coming home and being mustered out. For fuller details 

4 



42 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

as to the cause of this mighty commotion at regimental head- 
quarters see the daily doings of the company as recorded in 
The Diary. Private Oviatt was born at New Britain, Connecticut, 
twenty-four }'ears ago, of maternal Scotch ancestors. His 
father and uncle served in the Civil war. 



^ 



PRIVATE GEORGE E. PATTISON. 

Fair fighter, with ironlike legs spread out, 
And blood-extracting fist and mighty arm. 

— Bryant. 

With paternal ancestors from Scotland and maternal ones 
from Ireland, is it to be wondered at, the Herculean result of 
such heredity. Private Pattison fails to give his age but it is 
safe to presume he is no older than he used to be. He had an 
uncle in the Civil war but none in the other American conflicts 
so far as he knows. He was born at Simsbury, Connecticut. 



J- 



PRIVATE JOHN B. PERRY. 

They also serve who only stand and wait. 

— Milton. 

Private Perry was formerly a member of the Naval Reserve 
at New Haven but had had no previous experience in the 
National Guard. He was born at East Norwalk, Connecticut, 
nineteen years ago and now lives in New Haven where he is 
employed in a buckle shop. His ancestors were French but 
none of the present French love for the Spaniard survives in 
his make-up. Like the other members of the compan\-, he 
willingly served his country though it was but to stand guard at 
Camp Alger and wait, only to be ordered back home. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 43 

PRIVATE ALFRED B. PIMM. 

From camp to camp, through the foul womlj of night, 
First orderly, then ])rivate, always looking for fight. 

Henry V. 

Private Pimm, besides his three years in the National 
Gtiard, has done more camping since than any member of the 
company, Trumpeter Camp not excepted. First he went to 
Niantic, then Knox; then Preble and Niantic again and final]}' 
Alger and back to Niantic. For further information in regard 
to his experiences in going "from camp to camp, through the 
foul womb of night," see his article further along in this histor}'. 
Private Pimm was born at Newington, Connecticut, twent}*- 
three years ago, and had an uncle in the Civil war. He is now 
stenographer at Stedman & Redfield's. This is imderstood to 
be a life position, as he is kept constantly busy taking down, in 
shorthand, the excuses being made by one member of the firm, 
why he didn't go to the front. 



PRIVATE JAMES H. POTTER. 

We are the clay, thou our potter. 

— Isaiah 64:8. 

Private Potter is a Southerner by birth, first reciting his 
general orders at Atlanta, Georgia, possibly as a member 
of the Gate City Guards. This was twenty-one )'ears ago. 
For several years he made his home in Hartford and is now 
located at Sufifield. 

He is a bookkeeper b}' occupation. When the prophet 
Isaiah spoke of our Potter and of the rest of us as being the 
clay, he had in mind Virginia cla}', no doubt. During the 
water famine at Camp Alger, to be sure, it was pretty hard to 
say which was clay and which was Potter. For that matter, we 
were all clay, most of us, from head to foot. 



44 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

PRIVATE EDWARD H. RATHBUN. 

If they cannot cut, it may be said, 

His saws are toothless and his knives are lead. 

— Pope. 

The ' doctor" was bom at Oswego, New York, some thirty- 
five years ago, and is now engaged in the printing business in 
Hartford. His ancestry was English and he had some rela- 
tives in the Civil war, just how near the writer is unable to 
state. Private Rathbun had no previous militar}- experience 
and was detailed to the hospital corps soon after the regiment 
went out, where he served efficiently. 



PRIVATE WILLIAM A. ROBERTS. 

Small service is true service. 

• — IVorJsi^'ort/i . 

Private Roberts, another one of the recruits, served his 
country well, though his term of service was not so long. He 
was born in Hartford eighteen years ago, and, in answer to the 
question as to his present occupation, replies "draughtsman." 
Webster makes a distinction among draughtsmen: some are 
skilled in the execution of drawings; others, he says, drink 
drams. In which class Private Roberts intended himself to be 
placed is not a matter of serious doubt. The statement that 
he drinks drams without any scruples must be taken with 
several grains of salt. 



PRIVATE HERBERT E. ROOT. 

Let us leave this keen encounter of our wits, 

And fall somewhat into a slower method. 

— Richard III. 

Private Root is a native of Connecticut, having first shown 
an interest in land by taking root at West Suffteld twenty-three 
years ago. While, at first, as an infant, he observed his general 



BIOGRAPHICAL 45 

orders to this extent, that he held conversation with no one, 
in time he became sufficiently interested in military matters to 
offer himself as a volunteer. He, too, was one of the many 
who fell sick with the fever upon returning home. 



J» 



PRIVATE WILLIAM H. ROGERS. 

Every one is the architect of his own fortune. 

— Psendo-Sallust. 

Private Rogers is an architect, in business in Hartford. 
He was born in South Windsor, Connecticut, of English an- 
cestors. His father served in the Civil war as engineer on 
the flagship Hartford. He also had a great-grandfather in the 
American Revolution. Private Rogers served as a mem- 
ber of the First Company Governor's Horse Guards before 
volunteering. 

PRIVATE HERBERT J. RIPLEY. 

Yond" Cassius has a lean and hungry- look ; 
He thinks too much ; such men are dangerous. 

— ynliits Cnsar. 

Cassius probably got that lean and hungry look doing the 
skirmish and other drills four or five hours a day in the hot 
sun at Camp Alger. At least, if he didn't others did. The 
Caiisar at Camp Alger, unlike the other ambitious one, did not 
seem to want men about him that were fat. The fat was tried 
out of them trying to get them to Cuba. 

Private Riple\% however, since his recovery from the fever, 
appears to have succeeded in getting rid of his lean if not 
hungry look very well. He was born at L'nionville, Connecti- 
cut, is twent}'-t\vo years old, and is a telegraph operator by 
occupation. 



46 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

PRIVATE ANTHONY J. SANDNER. 

He did look far into the service of the time, 
And was disciplined of the bravest." 

—All's IVcll That Ends Well. 

An Austrian by birth and a piano-maker by profession, 
Private Sandner played well his part. Before volunteering he 
had served in the Connecticut Naval Reserve from New Haven, 
where his home now is. He joined the company at Portland 
with the other recruits. Engaged as he was in manufacturing 
musical instruments, when the Maine was blown up and every 
Spaniard to a man denied complicity in the matter, then it 
was that Private Sandner gave up hammering at pianos and, 
like Apollo, turned to strike the liar. 

PRIVATE ERNEST A. SCHARPER. 

Like hungry gnests, a standing company looks : 
Plays are like suppers ; poets are the cooks. 

— The ]Vay to Win Him. 

Private Scharper's chief claim in the book of fame is as 
"Mac's" right-hand man in the kitchen, where he served long 
and well. Next to "Mac," no other man deserved so well of 
the compan}-. They both strove to win the good will of the 
men by studying the lesson every good housekeeper must 
learn, to wit : "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." 
Private Scharper, besides being a good cook, is incidentally a 
poet, at times. He is twenty-four years old, was born at Hart- 
ford of German ancestors, but says his previous military ex- 
perience was so slight he only knew what " rest" meant. His 
father served in the Civil war. 

J- 

PRIVATE FRANK H. SARVAN. 

The welcome news is in the letter found ; 

The carrier's not commissioned to expound. 

—Drydcii. 

Private Sarvan, before volunteering, was connected with 
c he post office at Hartford as special delivery messenger. On 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 47 

his return, he was appointed to a position inside the post office. 
He was born at Suffurns, New York, twenty years ago. His 
only previous mihtary experience was as a member of the 
Boys' Brigade. Instead of coming with the recruits, had 
Private Sarvan joined the company during the first weeks ot 
wet weather at Niantic and Portland, the company would have 
turned upon this post office messenger and, in the words of the 
Countess of Ronsillon, exclaimed, " What's the matter with 
this distempered messenger of wet." 

PRIVATE CARL H. C. SCHULTS 

Heaven (or Schults) sent us good meat, but the devil scut some 
others, cooks. — Gar rick. 

Private Schults was detailed to the commissary while at 
Camp Alger, which may account for the good quality and 
quantity of rations issued to us. During the Civil war both 
his father and grandfather served their country, as the son and 
grandson has since done. Private Schults does not trace his 
ancestry farther back, claiming he is not accountable for 
antiquities. But he will say the blood of his ancestors was 
blue. He was born, he says, at Canton, Connecticut, twenty- 
two years, eleven months, two weeks, six days, eleven hours, 
thirty minutes, fifteen seconds and two ticks ago, so exact does 
the professional stenographer that he is become. 

J- 
PRIVATE MAURICE B. SHEA. 

Have you heard of the wonderful one-hoss shay ? 
And the end of the wonderful one-hoss shay. 

— Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

Private Shea is far from being a one-horse attachment, 
but is in himself a whole team and a horse to let. And as for 



48 BIUGKAPHICAL. 

the attachment, they say Private Shea has formed such an 
attachment at South Portland that they can easily see his finish 
— in other words, the end of the wonderful Maurice B. Shea. 
May he never go 

" To pieces, all at once, — 
All at once and nothing first, — 
Just as bubbles do when they burst." 

He was born at Hartford twenty years ago, of Irish ancestry. 

J- 
PRIVATE JOHN A, SOBIERALSKI. 

'Tis a petty kind of fame 
At best, that comes of playing violins. 

— George Eliot. 

Private Sobieralski and his fiddle seem likely to become 
famous in the annals of the company, judging from the recent 
claim for damages presented to the company. But, neverthe- 
less, the violin and the violinist aided materially in causing 
many a moment to pass pleasantly away during the twilight 
hours at Portland. Private Sobieralski was born at Brooklyn, 
New York, nineteen years ago, and still makes that city his 
home. His ancestors were German and Polish, and by pro- 
fession he is an actor. 

PRIVATE FREDERICK L. SHERMAN. 

They serve best who best bear the mild voke. 

—Mi/fo:i. 

Private Sherman was born at New York City and now 
makes West Haven, Connecticut, his home, where he served 
for a time in the Naval Reserve. His father served in the Civil 
war and was confined in both Libby and other prisons of the 
Southern Confederacy. He comes of a family famous not 
onlv in the histor\' of the state but nation as well. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 49 

PRIVATE GEORGE B. THAYER. 

What a beard thou hast got ! Thou hast 
got more hair on thy chin than Dohhin, my 

thill-horse, has on his tail. 

JMerchi-Dit of ]"enice. 

l^rivate Thayer was the oldest member of the compaii}', 
having been born at Rockville, Connecticut, May 13, 1853. 
He had served seven years in Company K, goinor out some 
two years ago as sergeant. When the Maine was blown up 
and war seemed inevitable, he at once re-enlisted, asking only 
that he be allowed to remain a private, whatever else befell 
him. He was nearly through his three years' course at the 
Yale Law School when the regiment was ordered out. He 
had relatives in the Civil war and both paternal and maternal 
ancestors in the war of the American Revolution. Upon the 
return of the regiment he began the practice of law. 

J- 
PRIVATE MICHAEL J. THOMPSON. 

Mv voice is still for war. 

—Addison. 

Private rhom[:)son was born at Eallins Naas, County KiL 
dare, Ireland, twenty -six years ago, and after coming to this 
country made Hartford his home, where he is now engaged in 
the grocery business. He had a great-uncle in the Civil war 
and comes of fighting blood, or as Milton puts it, in writing of 
the people of Ireland, "The whole Irishrx' of rebels." 

PRIVATE ROBERT K. VIBERT. 

We relish him" scarce more in the soldier than in the scholar. 

— Othello. 

Private Vibcrt was, for a time, occupied as teacher in the 
public schools about the state, but rather than continue in 



50 BIOGRAFIIICAL. 

the task of teaching " the young idea how to shoot," he pre- 
ferred trying his hand at a Httle shooting himself and so 
enlisted. He was born at Unionville, Connecticut, of French 
and Scotch ancestors; and, besides the satisfaction which he 
has in having had a grandfather in the Mexican war, he had 
two uncles in the Civil war. He is a graduate of Yale. 

PRIVATE THOMAS H. WALSH. 

You are a worthy judge ; 

You know the law ; your exposition 

Hath been most sound. 

— Mcrcha)if of ]~cnice. 

Private Walsh, though now a mere salesman with Prown> 
Thomson & Company, will figure in history as not only the great 
exponent of, but as the efficient instrument in the enforcement 
of the law at Portland. And it is doubtless true, also, that no 
member of the company who came under his searching in- 
vestigation, from Marvel to Molloy, ever felt the water, cold 
and raw, with good opinion of his law. "Judge" Walsh was 
born in Hartford twenty-one years ago, having in his veins, 
from his father's ancestors, the blood of Irish niart3'rs, and 
from his mother's that of the Highland laddies. His father 
fought in the Civil war and the "Judge" mentions the fact, 
with some inward satisfaction, it would seem, that the son came 
within one of being in as many engagements as fell to the good 
fortune of his father. The writer cannot refrain from here 
mentioning the fact, though the "Judge" seems to dislike 
being reminded of it, that a brother of the "Judge" also had 
the good fortune to fight under Dewt}^ at the battle of Manila. 

PRIVATE ROY C. WEBSTER. 

His slumber was au iron sleep — ' 
While lighting for his country. 

' — The Iliad. 

Private Webster, for a time, was detailed as stenographer at 
regimental headquarters. He and Admiral Dewey are both 



r.ioGRAriiiCAL. 51 

distinguished sons of the Green Mountain state, the only distin- 
guishing difference in their service being this — while Dewey was 
blowing up Montejo, Webster was taking down Burdett. The 
effect was much the same in each case. Both detonations, as 
the Parisian chemist, Fourcroy, describes it, being accom- 
panied " with considerable noise." Private Webster is twenty- 
five years old, of English and Scotch ancestry, and is now 
stenographer at the Pratt & Whitney Company. He had an 
uncle in the Civil war and ancestors in the Revolutionary war 
and had served two years in Company K before volunteering. 
As a sound sleeper his tent mates say he had no equal. 



J- 



PRIVATE PAUL L. WHEELOCK. 

Virginia answered : " O, \\\y dear l^rotlier, the rays of the 
sun in the morning give me less joy than the sight of you." 

— Paul and MrQ^inia. 

The rays of sun down in Virginia, it is true, gave us all 
less joy, morning, noon or night, than the same rays up at 
Portland, and doubtless Paul and Virginia separated in this 
instance with far less lamentations than was the case so famous 
in fiction. Be that as it may, Private Paul has survived the 
wreck. He was born at Paterson, New Jersey, twenty-two 
years ago, of P^nglish ancestors, and some of his family relatives 
served in the Civil war, just whom the writer knoweth not. 
His home is in Hartford. 

J- 

PRIVATE CHARLES B. WOLCOTT. 

In worst extremes, and never on the perilous edge of battle. 

— Paradise Lost. 

This seems to have been the experience of not only 
Private Wolcott, but of many other members of the regiment. 
From the cool coast of Maine to the hot cornfields of Camp 



52 BIOGRAPHICAL. 

Alger, and never once on the perilous edge of battle or any- 
where near the edge — this was the common experience of all. 
Hold ! The First Connecticut was once under orders to join 
the provisional expedition to Porto Rico, but it never joined. 
Private Wolcott was born in Hartford twenty-six years ago 
and his occupation is that of clerk. 



^ 



PRIVATE ROY H. WILEY. 

Whoe'er has gone thro' our compauy street, 

Has seen a Butcher (We34er) s^azing at his meat. 

—Hood. 

Twenty-three years ago Private Wiley first started the 
growth of whiskers which, when cut in the approved style, 
made that remarkable resemblance, later, to that infamous 
author of the reconcentrados, "Butcher" Weyler. The beard 
first began its career at Wakefield, Massachusetts. Private 
Wile}''s home is now in Hartford. He had an uncle in the 
Civil and lineal ancestors in both the Mexican and Revolution- 
ary wars. He had been a member of Company K two }^ears 
before volunteering. 



fn ittemorinm. 



PRIVATE IRVING DIMOCK. 

God's soldier be he ! 
Had I as many sous as I have hairs 
I would not wish them to a fairer death. 

—Macbeth. 

Private Dimock, one of the recrtiits who joined the com- 
pany at Portland, was the first to fall. He died at the home 
of his father on Vanderbilt Hill on the evening of Wednesday, 
September 21, while his comrades, little realizing his dangerous 
condition, were celebrating their last night in camp. He con- 
tracted typhoid fever at Camp Alger and was brought home, 
about three weeks before his death, with a number of other 
sick soldiers, his father making the arrangements for the trans- 
portation of the entire party to Hartford by special sleeping 
car. Medical skill and the tenderest care failed, however, to 
arrest the progress of Private Dimock's disease and, while the 
whole city was welcoming home the other members of the 
regiment, one home in Hartford was inconsolable with sorrow. 
Private Dimock was born at West Haven, Connecticut, and 
was twenty-five years of age, the oldest of five children. His 
father. President Ira Dimock of the Nonotuck Silk Company, 
for many years has owned the beautiful home on the summit 
of Vanderbilt Hill. An ancestor. Captain Shubael Dimock, 
was with Washington in crossing the Delaware and other 
maternal and paternal ancestors served in the Revolutionary 
war. 

The funeral occurred on Saturday afternoon, September 23. 
The bearers were Corporals Silvernail, Sanderson, Campbell, 
Appleton and Gruener, and Privates Ahern, Fowler, Morgan 
and McGrath. Lieutenant Valentine was in command of the 
company and the firing party consisted of Corporal Carroll 



54 IN MEMORIAM. 

and Privates Pattison, Marion, Humphrey, Gillette, Hollis, 
Brown, Denison and Bassett. 

The escort proceeded to Cedar Hill after the services at 
the house and fired three volleys over the grave. Following 
this ceremony taps were sounded by Trumpeter Camp. 

PRIVATE CHARLIiS D. GALE. 

Soldier, rest ! thy warfare o'er, 
Dream of flighting fields no more. 

— Lady of the Lake. 

Private Gale joined the company at Portland, enlisting 
with the other recruits who came to fill the ranks of the com- 
pany at that time. He was twenty-eight years of age and was 
born in New York City, where, for many years, he had been 
engaged as salesman. He contracted typhoid fever upon the 
arrival of the regiment at Niantic in September and was 
brought to the Hartford Hospital, where he died Friday, 
October 7. The remains were taken to Jamaica, New York, 
for burial. Captain Saunders, Corporal Carroll and Privates 
Bryant and Knox attending the funeral. 



PRIVATE MERLIN A. PIERCE. 

Sleep, soldier ! Still in honored rest 
Your truth and valor wearing. 

— Soni^ of the Camp. 

Private Pierce, one of the twenty-five who in June helped 
to recruit the company up to 106 men, was born at Moria, 
New York, twenty-four years ago, and had been a teamster in 
that section for many years. He contracted typhoid fever, 
probably at Camp Alger, and, with nearly 100 soldiers, all 
suffering from the same disease, was brought to the Hartford 
Hospital soon after the regiment returned to Niantic. He died 
in that institution Tuesday, September 27. 

The remains were taken to Dickinson Center, New York, 
for burial, accompanied by Corporals Carroll and Campbell. 



IN MEMORIAM. 



55 



PRIVATE CHARLES A. TINKHAM. 

Wild was the uight; the wintry sea 
Moaued sadly on New England's strand. 

— Bryant. 

Private Tinkham lost his life on the steamer Portland, 
wrecked off Cape Cod in the gale and snow of Saturday night, 
November 26, 1898. His body was washed ashore at Orleans, 
Massachusetts, and was identified by the discharge papers from 
the regiment found in his pocket. His friends knew he was going 











=j:^^i^sm^^:s^^-^,- 



^TEAMEi; I'UKTLAXi). 
Wrecked off Cape Cod, Saturday Night. November 20, 1898. 

to Portland to enlist in the Heavy Battery, regular arm\', on 
duty in that city, but knew nothing of his having taken passage 
on the steamer until a telegram came announcing the finding 
of the body. 

Pri\'ate Tinkham was born in Hartford and learned his 
trade as a florist with McChmie. After working for some time 
in New York at the business, he came home and enlisted with 
Company K. He was assistant cook for a time and was well 



56 IN MEMORIAM. 

liked by the members of the company. He was a graduate of 
the West Middle School and formerly belonged to the Asylum 
Hill Cadets. He was twenty-four years old and when he was 
mustered out of the service, having worked for McClunie during 
his furlough, he made up his mind that he would enlist in the 
regular army and was on his way to do so, as has been 
said. The name Tinkham did not appear on the passenger 
list of the Portland, as published, and his death was a great 
shock to his comrades. 

His watch stopped nearly two hours later than the watch 
of any other of the ill-fated passengers, indicating that Private 
Tinkham fought long and hard, as he doubtless would had he 
been given an opportunity to battle for his country, instead of 
for his own life. Chaplain Kelsey conducted the funeral 
services and the bearers were Corporal Campbell and Privates 
Fisher, Brigham, R. A. Case, Cadweil, Barber and VVheelock. 
The firing party was Corporal Dwyer and Privates Webster, 
Cannon, Gillette, HoUis, Johnson, Hatton, Scharper and Hall, 
The burial was at Zion Hill Cemetery, Trumpeter Camp sound- 
ing taps. 

.^ 

PRIVATE ARTHUR W. ZOLLER. 

The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the higlilands of afllictiou. 

— S/'ia-gt'on. 

Private Zoller was born at New Haven, Connecticut, and 
at the age of nineteen, with the other recruits, joined the ranks 
of Company K with Privates Perry, Sandner and Sherman, all 
from the same town. By trade Private Zoller was an iron- 
worker. While the company was at East P'alls Church he was 
stricken down with typhoid fever. The day the company 
broke camp he refused to give up, even when the company 
started for the station to take the train for Dunn Loring, and 
insisted upon walking, with the assistance of some of his com- 
rades, across to the station. Upon being brought home he 
was taken to West Haven, where he died at the home of his 
parent^, on Tuesday, October i8. 



IN MEMORIAM. 57 

The bearers were Corporals Silvernail and Gruener and 
Privates McGrath, Marvel, Perry, Sandner, Driscoll and the 
firing party, consisting of Privates Fuller, F. R. Denison, 
Denniston, Nunan, Brigham, Gillette, Hollis and Cannon, were 
in charge of Corporal Campbell. 



((?• t^* ?^* 



JACK BRUTUS. 

Et tu, Brute, 
Then fall, Santiago ! 

— yuluis Caesar. 

That, in effect, was what General Toral, the Spanish com- 
mander at Santiago, said when he learned Brutus had joined 
Company K. 

Jack's ancestors came of good fighting stock and served 
in many a battle. He himself was born at Cumberland, Maine, 
in 1 89 1. He had friends in most of the cities in New England 
through his associations with the traveling public at the West 
End Hotel at Portland. Frequently he visited them in their 
own homes, taking passage in some steamer or boarding some 
train, and returning to Portland in due time. His longest stay 
was two weeks in Boston, but he also frequently visited New 
York, New Brunswick and other cities connected with Portland 
by lines of steamers. When the company arrived at Portland, 
Brutus at once enlisted for the war and followed the fortunes 
of the company faithfully. At Camp Alger he suffered much 
from the heat and possibly would not have survived but for 
the tender care of Sergeant Boniface. Upon the muster out of 
the regiment Wagoner Ahern gave Jack the freedom of his 
home and during his last sickness had a physician attend him 
once or twice. Jack died of spinal troubles and constipation, 
November 20, 1898, and was given a suitable burial. 



IN MEMORIAM. 




JACK-BRUTUS. 
Armed and Equipped. 



STATISTICAL. 

By Private George B. Thayer. 
J^ 

The average age of the members of Company K was 
between twenty-three and twenty-four years. The oldest 
member was Private Thayer, who was forty-five, four days 
before the company was mustered into the United States 
service. The youngest members were Privates Barber, Barker, 
Kober, Landerman, Marvel and Roberts, each of whom was in 
his nineteenth year. 

Connecticut is the birthplace of sixty members ; New 
York, fifteen ; Massachusetts, twelve ; Ireland, four ; England, 
two ; New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, Canada, France, Russia and 
Austria, one each. 

The occupation of the different members was as follows : 
Clerks, thirteen; insurance clerks, six; traveling salesmen, 
five; machinists, five; students, four; stenographers, four; 
electricians, three; tailors, bank clerks, architects, printers, 
civil engineers, joiners, builders, dentists, watchmen, elevator- 
men, two each; photographer, mason, draughtsman, black- 
smith, watch-maker, sign-painter, bicyclist, contractor, book- 
keeper, window dresser, pressman, bicycle-maker, cook, drug- 
gist, waiter, cartridge-maker, newspaper man, stamper, piano- 
maker, actor, teamster, grocer, florist, teacher, iron-worker, 
lawyer, one each. 

Eight members left wives and children behind when the 
company started for the front. 

The ancestral blood of the company, upon being analyzed, 
resolves itself into the following elements : American and 



6o STATISTICAL. 

English, fifty -four; Irish, twenty - one ; Scotch, eighteen; 
French, nine; Dutch, three ; German, three; Welsh, Hebrew, 
Austrian, Polish and Indian, one each. 

The fathers or grandfathers of twenty-two members served 
in the Civil war. Uncles or cousins of thirty-five other mem- 
bers also took part in the same conflict. Ancestors of thirty 
members, other than the above, served in either the Mexican, 
Revolutionary or War of 1812. Only seventeen members 
report no relatives or ancestors in any American conflict. 

The record of the previous military experience of the 
members is as follows: Membership in Company K for periods 
varying from a few months to nearly twenty years, forty; mem- 
bership in the Connecticut Naval Reserve, four; regular army, 
one ; military instruction at schools or colleges, fourteen ; no 
previous military experience whatsoever, fifty. So, it appears, 
scarcely more than half the members had ever before shoul- 
dered a gun. One member writes : " My previous military ex- 
perience was so slight that I only knew what 'rest' meant." 
Another replies: "None, except sweeping floors." 



QUARTERMASTER'S SUPPLIES. 

The following were the prices for clothing issued to the 
enlisted men: Blouse, $4.41; blanket, $3-33; cap, $0.74; 
campaign hat, $0.85 ; leggins, $0.64; shoes, $2.25; trousers, 
$2.75 ; flannel shirt, $1.95 ; stockings, $0.23 ; drawers, $0.48 ; 
undershirt, $0.24; gloves, $0.10 ; suspenders, $0.19; canvass 
suit, $1.91 ; overcoat, $11.74. The first six months of the 
first year of enlistment the privates were allowed for clothing, 
in addition to the $15.60 per month, the sum of $56.57 and 
for the balance of the year, $9.67. The total allowance for the 
second year of enlistment was $28.10. 

The following were the prices at which the arms and 
accouterments were charged to those who retained them : 



STATISTICAL. 6l 

Springfield rifle (caliber .45), $10.00; Colt's revolver (caliber 
.38), $10.00; saber, $3.60; blanket bag, with straps, $1.15; 
scabbard, $0.50; belt, $0.75; belt, double row of loops, 
$1.00; canteen, $0.43; gun sling, $0.24; haversack, $0.72; 
meat can, $0.14; tin cup, $0.08; knife, $0.04; fork, $0.03 ; 
spoon, $0.01. 

The following were the prices for the clothing issued to 
the enlisted men by the State of Connecticut: Blanket, $1.00; 
blouse, $0.75; cap, $0.35; campaign hat, $0.20; leggins, 
$0.20; overcoat, $1.50; poncho, $1.15 ; trousers, $0.50. 

The symbol of the Second Army Corps was a four-leaf 
clover. The divisions of the corps were represented by 
colors — first division, red ; second division, white ; third divi- 
sion, blue. 

General Order, No. 99. " The corps symbol, to be 
habitually worn in the form of a small badge on the front of 
the hat or in the center of the crown of the forage cap by 
enlisted men, and upon the left breast by officers, will be of 
felt of the color designating the division to which the wearer 
belongs ; the badge to be i >< inches high, or occupying a 
space 1)^2 inches square." 

The regiment, upon its arrival at Camp Alger, was 
assigned to the first division of the Second Army Corps but 
was not brigaded. On August 2nd, the First Connecticut, 
Second Texas and the First Delaware were assigned to the 
fifth brigade of the Porto Rico expedition. Later, the First 
Connecticut and the Third Virginia were organized into the 
second brigade of the third division of the Second Army Corps. 



PERSONAL. 

By Private George B. Thayer. 



When the idea of writing a history of Company K was 
first suggested, the writer sent out to the members a circular 
asking for their individual opinions upon some fifty dift"erent 
topics. These opinions, or answers, have been compiled and 
are presented without change except by way of slight abbrevia- 
tions. 

The motive uppermost in the minds of the members when 
they made the offer (none greater ever falling to the lot of 
man to make) have been expressed, so far as it is possible to 
put such a thing into words, as follows: Sense of duty 
to his country, fifty-four; loyalty to Company K, twenty; 
love of travel and adventure, twenty ; desire to test his 
courage in battle, nineteen. Some members answer: 
"A little of all four;" others, "A great deal of each." 
A sergeant replies: "My reasons for going were, first 
and principally, duty to the old flag ; secondly, a 
pride for dear old K, and thirdly, a slight desire for ad- 
venture and glory in battle." Another sergeant writes: 
"The desire to serve the company and positive hatred of the 
Spaniard in regard to the Maine incident and the treatment of 
the reconcentrados were the prime factors in the case, although 
my love for the United States knows no bounds, and it is my 
sincere desire that it never will." One of the newer corporals 
writes: "I knew men in Company K;" and then he gives as 
his motives in enlisting: " Duty and love of country, a little 
love of travel and adventure, and desire to test my courage in 
battle." Another member replies: "If I hadn't belonged to 



PERSONAL. 63 

K I should have stayed at home." A member, of EngHsh 
birth, answers: " Duty to my adopted country and love for 
Company K." Another member, of Connecticut birth, writes: 
" I belonged to Company K and was single. The country 
called for volunteers ; old K was going, and as I was proud to 
represent her in peace, I was doubly proud to do so in war." 
Another private answers : " I wanted to help protect our 
country and was willing to test my courage in battle. I also 
loved the travels and adventures we had." Still another 
private, one of the recruits, says: "My motives were to try 
army life, and more or less a sense of duty to my country." 
" Love for my country and the desire of giving liberty to 
others " were the motives urging another to enlist. Another 
member, who joined just before the departure of the company, 
gives this answer: "The community was laughing at K (re- 
ferring to the current report that only four members had 
volunteered), and I knew quite a few of the members. My 
motive was to save the reputation for courage the company 
had and as far as possible I wanted, as an individual, to help 
save it. I also desired to test my courage under fire." This 
is the reply of another: "Having once enlisted in Company 
K and not having completed my term of service, I was bound, 
when the country called for them, to be in the bunch. Sense 
of duty to my country was partly my motive also." Another 
fighting member puts it this way: "I wanted to help revenge 
the Maine and free Cuba, and also to fight for my country." 
" I thought young men were needed," is the answer of one of 
the older members. A member of the hospital corps sa}'s : 
" Love of country," and adds, " The welfare of the members of 
the regiment was mostly in mind — to minister to them in sick- 
ness and distress." "Loving excitement and being of a curious 
disposition, I thought enlisting would fulfill my wishes to the 
fullest extent," writes another. " To revenge the battleship 
Maine," was the sole motive of another. This is the way one 
member puts it: "Loyalty to Company K, because it was 
composed of men of my own standing, therefore, gentlemen. 



64 PERSONAL. 

As for courage, I had none. My stand-by was plenty of gall, 
and my ability as a bluffer." One member says he enlisted to 
have a good time ; another, for sake of humanity. But five 
members reply that love for the Cubans was a moving cause in 
their enlisting. 

******* 

To the question, " Do you regret enlisting," but one 
answered "Yes." Most of the members (some still on beds of 
sickness) answered briefly, "No." Some replied : "Not a bit," 
" not at all," " not on your life," " no, glad of it," " no, am 
proud of it." One sergeant writes: "Decidedly no. Would 
not sell my experience for many dollars." Another " regrets 
being held in reserve without a chance to try our metal and 
serve our country in a manner that was our intent. Possibly 
we are better off, but I would rather see our men die in 
action than to be obliged to return home wasted with disease, 
only to die at their homes and in the hospital, as four of our 
poor comrades have." One of the corporals replies: "I con- 
sider I have gained an experience that is very valuable to me." 
Another is emphatic: "Regret? No, sir, not by a damn 
sight." One of the privates replies: " I am only sorry we saw 
no action." Another looks at the question in this light : "I 
don't regret enlisting, for I never loved home as I do since our 
return." Still another answers: " I think I have had enough." 
One private replies: "No; I am glad of the experience." 
Another: "I am well pleased that I enlisted." Another: 
" My experience was one I shall always look back upon with 
pride and pleasure." One member answers: "I lost time, 
spent money and didn't see what I wanted to see." The 
question stirs up one member to sa}' : " Have never regretted 
enlisting (think of the suppers in Portland I !)." One member 
answers : " Yes ; because of the treatment we received from 
the government and our state." Another replies: " No, not a 
damn bit." 

* * * * irf * * 

In reply to the question, " Would you again enlist in case 
of another war?" the members speak out as follows: " Under 



PERSONAL. 65 

some circumstances I certainly would enlist again." " No ; 
have tried to do my duty once, and am not pleased with the 
fiasco." " It all depends upon whom the next war is with." 
" Yes, in defense of our country, but not if the war would take 
me out of it." " No, unless there was a great need of 
volunteers." "Yes, sir, if not too old." "No, unless we were 
in danger from invasion." These answers came from the 
"non-coms." The privates talk this way: "I should think 
twice. If really needed, yes." " Yes, if I was positive we were 
going to the front." "Yes, if I could get a commission." 
" It would depend on the cause of the war, the need of men, 
etc." " Yes, if I was going to see some fighting." " I suppose 
I should have the fever again as bad as any, and should awfully 
hate to see old K and the First Connecticut march away and 
leave me behind." "In case of another war a few years from 
now, I should advise younger men to go and stay at home 
myself." In all, seventy members of the company answer 
" yes " without qualification, fourteen say " no " just as 
decidedly, and the others qualify their answers more or less. 
This vote indicates that the patriotism of the members has not 
been dampened to any great extent by the alleged ill-treatment 
by the government. Whatever else may have been preserved 
by a patent process, the patriotism of the members of Company 
K has not been enbalmed — except in history. It will again 
spring up afresh, let only the occasion arise. 



Are the members inclined to do garrison duty in any of 
the American colonies? One corporal replies: "Yes, in Porto 
Rico." Another: " Yes, in Honolulu." One of the privates 
answers: "Yes, in Cuba." Another: "No, not by a damn 
sight." Another: " I do not think garrison duty very profit- 
able for an ambitious man." Another: "Yes, in Porto Rico." 
One private is willing to go to the Philippines. Two privates 
concur in saying: "Such duty belongs to the regulars." 
Another answers: " My time is too precious to waste in doing 



66 PERSONAL. 

garrison duty, but if ordered I would choose Porto Rico." 
Another replies: " Yes, if I could choose Portland, Maine." 
Still another writes : " I have no use for garrison duty. Too 
much like a county home." Another says: "The regulars, 
who are in it as a business, should do it." Still another: 
" Not on your tin-type, Georgie." In all eighty members 
answer "no," eight reply "yes," and the others are non-com- 
mittal. 

******* 

What military duty did the members like best? One of 
the sergeants answers : " I enjoyed moving as much as any- 
thing in my line of duty." Another says: "The parades and 
ceremonies — they were inspiring." A corporal replies : "Read- 
ing the articles of war." One of the privates says: " Receiving 
and spending my salary." Another replies : " Building tables 
for the First Sergeant." One private puts it this way: 
" Learning how to curse." Another says: " I suppose digging 
is a military duty, hence I prefer digging to drilling." Still 
another answers : " Falling in to be paid off." Dress parade 
was the favorite with sixteen ; guard duty, eleven ; provost 
duty, ten; ordinary drilling, ten ; answering to the mess call, 
five; digging sinks (the writer is ready to verify this count), 
three; extended order drill, three ; calisthenics, guard mount, 
practice marching, two each ; police, hospital work, running 
canteen, cooking, sighting and aiming, sleeping, acting as 
quartermaster sergeant's clerk, evening parade, one each. Two 
members join in preferring to obey the order " Rest" to any 
other duty. One member likes the duty of stenographer at 
headquarters best. Another says : " I wasn't wildly fond of 
any particular duty, after the novelty and surplus patriotism had 

worn off." 

******* 

What military duty did the members detest most? One 
of the sergeants answers: "Detailing men for anything and 
everything." Another replies : " I really disliked nothing." 
Another one was displeased at nothing " excepting digging 



PERSONAL. ^1 

sinks." A corporal detested " check roll call, especially when I 
wasn't in camp." Another corporal says: " Drilling Fulton in 
the awkward squad" he detested most. "The duty of drilling 
by trumpet signals on a hot or windy day" our trumpeter dis- 
liked most. " Fatigue duty with a pick and shovel " was what 
a private detested most. Another answered : " Being obliged 
to keep still when I wanted to say a hell of a pile." " If 
listening to the Top-notcher call out 'Fall in for drill' was a 
duty, I detested that most," said another. Still another writes : 
" What I detested most was being obliged to salute some of 
the officers of the regiment." Not to give in detail further, the 
summary of the vote is as follows : Guard duty was what 
twenty-four members detested most; digging sinks, nineteen ; 
fatigue duty, eleven; drilling, four; digging sinks on Sunday, 
four; practice marching, two; policing, guarding prisoners, 
provost duty, dress parade, waiting to be mustered out at 
Niantic, getting up in the morning, guarding sinks, digging 
holes all day, special duty at division headquarters, show 

parades, one each. 

******* 

The causes of the sickness in the company, in the opinion 
of the members, were many. The location of the company at 
East Falls Church and the provost duty at Aqueduct Bridge 
were, in the opinion of twenty-eight members, the direct cause 
of so much sickness. "Too much intoxicating liquors," "too 
much sporting" and "poor water" were the answers given, 
two members concurring on each. Other members gave these 
replies: " Six in a tent," " poor drainage," " drink," " booze,' 
"too much to eat," "climate and food," "no will power," 
" climate," " neglect of men," and "situation of camp," one 
each. Other members go into detail a little. One of the 
sergeants thinks " close proximity to the sinks, over indulgence 
in sweet things, and something (I can't say what) about East 
Falls Church." Another puts it this way: "Georgetown 
bridge, the stagnant Potomac, with its mosquitoes and malaria, 
and the camp at East Falls Church that had been occupied for 



68 PERSONAL. 

SO many months by different companies." " Whatever the 
cause," writes another, " it was not from neglect or fault of the 
men." One of the corporals thinks this: "The boys stayed in 
their tents too much during the day instead of getting out and 
finding a cool (sic) spot in the open air. With one or two 
exceptions our sick contracted the disease in that way." 
Another corporal says : " It was a combination of unpleasant 
circumstances." Another: "Being placed near typhoid fever 
infested troops, and camping on old, contaminated grounds at 
Falls Church." Another: "Lack of floors and mattresses 
upon arrival at Niantic from Virginia. Situation of camp at 
Falls Church." Another : " Poor camp ground, heat, insufficient 
water supply and carelessness on part of men." Among the 
privates these opinions are given: "Excessive heat and un- 
healthy locality;" "sinks too near the kitchen and food that 
should not have been issued to us in such a warm climate;" 
" extreme heat and volunteer officers who were unfit to care 
for the men, but instead, had some political pull, water that 
was unfit to drink, rotten meat and no facilities whatever for 
bathing;" "locality of camp, a typhoid section, as shown by 
the dozen cases of fever every year among the few inhabitants 
at Dunn Loring;" "change of climate and water, and over- 
loading of stomachs with cake, ice cream and other things ;" 
"refreshments sold around the camp;" "poor location of 
camp, hot weather, insufficient water supply and carelessness 
of men;" "proximity of division hospital, from which germs 
were carried by flies to the food, also carelessness and dissipa- 
tion among the men;" "men didn't let liquor alone and ate 
everything ;" " improper care of the person ;" " improper care 
of themselves, eating and drinking everything the}^ ought not 
to, change of climate and allowing the system to get run 
down;" " many causes — great swarms of flies from the sinks to 
the kitchen, covering the food and breeding disease — water 
that was never pure nor tasteless, to my knowledge, should have 
been boiled — location of camp, in a poverty-stricken and God- 
forsaken spot, prominent for its rich mud, clay, stagnant water 



PERSONAL. 69 

and half-starved population — proximity of camp to Washington 
was the only redeeming feature;" "camping at East Falls 
Church on grounds already full of typhoid germs ;" "eating 
everything that was sold in camp;" "lack of discipline in 
sanitary matters ;" " poor water and rotten whiskey;" " home- 
sickness and worry about camping out;" "living so near the 
barn at Falls Church and drinking the water from that barn;" 
"indiscretion of the men in regard to temperance;" "poor 
food and impure water ;" " using water from a well at Falls 
Church that was but six feet from a livery stable floor;" 
"camping on grounds used all summer by previous details ;" 
"proximity to division hospital;" "eating improper food, 
drinking filthy water, loss of appetite caused by heat and 
homesickness — systems in such a condition they could not 
resist the invasion of the ever-prevalent germs of more serious 
illnesses;" "sinks and water;" "fault of men in most cases, 
such as uncleanliness, drinking liquors, eating everything and 
at irregular hours, and inactivity of mind as well as body;" 
"men lost interest after peace protocol was signed;" "the 
diarrhoeal effect of the artesian well water at Alger made the 
conditions ripe for typhoid germs and the malaria at Aqueduct 
bridge." 



Were the sick men in the company treated as well as they 
could have been under the circumstances? Sixty members 
answer " yes " and seven answer " no " without further explana- 
tions. One member says: "yes, when Dr. McCook was 
there." Two replies: "no, not at division hospital." Another 
says: " yes, if Dr. Griswold had been sent home." Among 
the " non-coms." these replies were received: "Very well, 
indeed;" "could not have been treated better;" "the best 
of care under the circumstances;" "the stewards in the 
hospital were neglectful;" "the sick men, some of them, 
should have been sent home sooner than they were ;" "the 
treatment might have been better." The privates talk this 
way: "our sick were treated as well as the attendants knew 



70 PERSONAL. 

how, which is not saying a lot;" " they received fine treat- 
ment;"' "yes, but the circumstances could have been im- 
proved;" "no, hospital men didn't seem to care;" "yes, but 
there was a very great lack in camp of sympathy on the part 
of the officers;" "yes, our surgeons were superior to any in 
our army corps;" "everything possible was done for them;" 
"yes, in regimental hospital, but not in the other:" "the 
Hartford Hospital treated us white;" "yes. Captain Saunders 
did nobly, and too much praise cannot be given him for his 
untiring care when the men were ill or in trouble;" "the only 
complaint I ever heard came from the worst kicker in the 
company, so I think all it was possible to do was done 
for them;" " no, and but for the extreme kindness of a com- 
rade yours truly would have received a grand military funeral ;' 
"in some cases I know they might have been treated better;" 
"Captain Saunders deserves the approval of all for his kindness 

to the sick." 

******* 

What changes in the daily duties at Camp Alger, either 
from a military or sanitary point of view, the members would 
have had adopted, appear in the following answers. A 
sergeant who was often at guard mount suggests : " The 
blouses should not have been worn at guard mount." Another 
sergeant says : " I would have had the men drill more and 
would have compelled some to bathe more frequently. They 
should have spent less money during their Washington trip." 
" Practice marches for a day or two, camping out in the mean- 
time," says another. Another writes: "Large bodies of 
men should not stay in one camp longer than a week. By 
moving frequently, practice in marching, loading and unloading 
baggage and, best of all, a change of scene, would follow. 
Danger from and disease caused by the sinks would thus be 
avoided. The minds of the men would be kept in a happy 
condition, there would be less suspense and moving 
would not have been anticipated with dread." Another 
sergeant says: " Setting up exercises in the cool of the early 



PERSONAL. 71 

morning, frequent change of camp grounds, thus giving the men 
something to do, though it might look like hardship at first, 
danger from infection would thus be reduced to a minimum — 
more shade for camp grounds." A corporal would " do away 
with dress parade and devote more time to rifle practice and 
skirmish drills. Instead of starting in the next day at Camp 
Alger to drill the men, their health and sanitary condition 
should have been looked to first." Another corporal says: 
"The best change would have been to change the entire 
camp." " Better accommodations for bathing and sinks 
farther removed," says another. " Shorter drills and none at 
all in the heat of the day. Sanitary conditions too bad to talk 
about," says another. " More light exercise in the cool morn- 
ing hours and more lime to spread around everywhere;" 
"inspection of food by officers and sinks farther removed ;" 
" half-hours drill at calisthenics might have done more good 
than the regular drills;" "more water and floor in tents" — 
these from the "non-coms." The privates think: "The 
prisoners should do the policing and the sink digging instead 
of the faithful privates;" "two hours only of drilling and sinks 
farther removed and constantl}' kept filled with a good disin- 
fectant;" "no drills at all when it was so hot;" " sinks too 
near and no swimming place;" "frequent but not too long 
marches and fewer troops in a camp;" "no drills and com- 
pulsory baths five times a day;" " drilling was carried on too 
near the sinks," " less drilling and better sanitary arrange- 
ments;" "less drilling, and sinks more than ten feet from 
kitchen;" "higher ground for a camp and the custom of 
covering the sinks should have begun sooner;" "drill b}' 
moonlight, as other regiments did, and sleep days;" "the 
lying down part of the skirmish drill should have been 
omitted, in view of the foul condition of the drill grounds ;" 
"drills only in the early morning;" "floors in tents, sinks 
better attended to and more good wells;" "calisthenics every 
morning and company or battalion drills on alternate days 
only, retreat parade only, Sunda\-s included;" "calisthenics in 



72 PERSONAL. 

place of morning drill and sinks farther removed;" "calis- 
thenics for forty-five minutes and all other drills over before 
9:30 A.M ;" "shorter and less fatiguing drills, in the heat of the 
day. Larger hospital facilities and greater variety of supplies, 
removal of sick farther away from the spot where the dis- 
eases were contracted," " we should have been compelled to 
go somewhere, once a week, and take a bath, such as General 
Graham said we took, but didn't;" " drills earlier in the morn- 
ing or later at night ;"" rising an hour later and calisthenics 
when the dew was off — then no drills till evening;" " another 
team to bring our meat in than one that was used without 
being cleaned afterwards to cart every and anything in during 
the rest of the day;" "the reducing of several ofificers and 'non- 
coms' to the ranks;" "camp should have been near a stream of 
water, hospital sinks should have been regulation depth;" " no 
company drills — as it was, the heat itself was almost unbear- 
able;" " drills only in the cool of the day and when there was 
any fatigue work, have all do it instead of small details ;" 

" earlier drills and no Sunday sink digging at all" these are 

some of the answers from the privates. Twenty-two members 
have no changes to suggest. Fourteen merely answer "shorter 
drills" or "none at all." Eight say "move the sinks farther 
away;" seven, "change the camp;" two " better water " and 
one "remove division hospital." "Placing a guard at the sinks 
and making the men use a shovel should have been adopted 
from the first. Compelling the men to throw themselves, hot 
and perspiring, down in the dirt and dust of that old cornfield, 
when the opportunities for bathing were so poor, was entirely 
unnecessary." 

The election returns show a wide divergence of opinion as 
to some of the candidates and a remarkable unanimity of choice 
as to others. The most popular ofificer in the company is 
Lieutenant Waterman. In voting for him, a sergeant explains 
his vote: "All tried to do their duty impartially and justly." 
A private puts it this way : "Well, you know Captain Saun- 



PERSONAL. 73' 

ders was, at times, troubled with a swelled head. Lieutenant 
Valentine was little more than his parasite. Good old Ed. 
Waterman, always the same, was surely first in war, first in 
peace and first in the hearts of Company K." The vote stands : 
Waterman, 83 ; Saunders, 6; Valentine, 2. 

****** 

* 

The most popular non-commissioned officer is Sergeant 

DeLaniater. One of the privates replies: " The ' non-coms ' 

were, generally speaking, all right. Dick DeLamater (accent 

on the Lam) and Ralph Pierce respectively as sergeant and 

corporal were very popular but I might mention several more." 

Another answers: "Who the the most popular? Dam fino." 

Another: "Give it up." Another, "All popular with me." 

The vote stands : DeLamater, 44 ; Pierce, 20 ; Holt, 8^4 ', Sil- 

vernail, 6% ; Gruener and Beebe, each, 3 ; Dwyer, Carroll and 

H. L. Huntington, each, one. 

******* 

Who was the most popular private? The figures elect 
Priv?te Thayer but you know figures can be made to lie, 
especially when the one who counts them is himself what the 
Irishman calls a " liyer." Be that as it may, the writer under 
the circumstances can only make this offer — if, as the vote 
progresses, there arise any contested elections, as for instance, 
over the result as to who is elected the " biggest eater " or 
" the worst one to whine about himself," the writer promises to 
seal up the ballot boxes and preserve them, to be opened for 
the purpose of a re-count upon a proper order of the supreme 
court. In this instance the vote cast and counted is as 
follows : Dimock, Bryant, Chamberlin, Gruener, Marvel, 
Denison, F. R., each i ; Case, W. O., Walsh, each 2 ; Gillette, 
3 ; Case, R. A., 4; McGrath, 5 ; Thayer, 64. There were also 
eight scattering votes, not counted on account of attempted 
bribery, irregularity and profanity, as follows : " Geo. B. 
Thayer by Gosh," "Little Georgie Thayer, of course," "Geo. 
B. Thayer, the sawed off," " This is a hard one to answer, I 
don't think, Geo. B, Thayer," " Geo. B. Thayer (25 cents, 
6 



74 PERSONAL. 

please)," " I don't want to 'taffy' him but think our oldest and 
shortest member is the most popular," " Why, George Thayer, 
of course." " Georgie Thayer, I'd play him for first place 

against odds." 

******* 

The best drill-master, among the officers, is Captain 
Saunders, the vote being: Saunders, 86; Waterman, 3. 
Several members add : " Saunders, the best in the regiment." 
One member replies : "Waterman, he could get the most out 
of the men." 

The best drill-master among the " non-coms." is Sergeant 
Holt, the vote being: Holt, 56^ ; DeLamater, 24)^ ; Pierce, 3 ; 
Dwyer, 2 ; Boniface, Wheeler and Carroll, each i. One mem- 
ber writes: "Boniface puts on too many airs." Another, in 
voting for DeLamater adds: " Especially when he allows us to 
rest through our drill and then refuses to wake up those who 
have fallen asleep." 

******* 

Who, among the privates, was the best all round soldier, 
doing every duty well and without complaint? Again the 
writer is open to the charge of having employed the Louisiana 
Returning Board methods and elected himself. Some of the 
members divided up their votes among several, as follows: 
"Fuller, Hall, Scharper, Thayer and Walsh," " Pattison, Jud- 
son, Fulton, Denison, F. E., Potter and Humphrey," " Marion, 
Cannon, Hynes, James and Jeremiah Morgan and others." 
One member voted for Thayer because " he never heard him 
complain." Another says : " Thayer, I never heard him com- 
plain but once and that was when Colonel Burdett made us 
vote to retract our oath of military service ;"" I guess you 
are it, again, George;" says another. The vote is as follows: 
Humphrey, Webster, Vibert, Scharper, Fuller, Dimock, 
Zoller, Landerman, Potter, Pierce, Rowland and Thompson, 
each, I ; P^ulton and Dimock, each. 2 ; Chamberlin, 3 ; Case, W. 
O., 5 ; Gillette, 10% ; Thayer, 50>^. The following votes were 



PERSONAL. 75 

thrown out, in accordance with a recent ruling under the 
Australian ballot law: "Oh, Thayer;" "George Fair;" 
"Thayer, the nonpareil," (meaning a small type ot a soldier, 
doubtless) one each. 

******* 

Corporal Gruener kept his uniform and equipments looking 
the neatest, in the opinion of the members. The \'ote is as 
follows: Gruener, 23; Marion, 9; Burnell, F. C., 5^ ; Fisher, 
5 '/2 ; Fuller, Brown, W. H. and Zoller, each, 4; Thayer, 3; 
Hynes and Carroll, each, 2 ; Gillette, Barber, Pattison, Bryant, 
Hatton, Eno, Knox, Tinkham, Camp, Holt, Pimm, Humphrey, 
Morgan, Jeremiah and Scharper, each, i. One member replies : 
"All the sergeants and corporals and Thayer, Knox, Marion, 
Rathbun and Frank Denison." Another says : "Mac, our cook, 
because he never put it on only on state occasions." This is 
the opinion of still another : " Private Fulton was the company 
dude, as was shown at guard mount." 



Considerable wire pulling is to be seen over the contest 
for the best tent. The combinations are numerous and the vote 
close, except for first place. The tent occupied by Corporals 
Gruener and Low wins by a handsome plurality, as follows : 
Gruener and Low, 14; First Sergeant's tent, 9; Denison tent, 
Sanderson, Fulton, Thayer and Webster tent, each, 8 ; Camp, 
Case, Tinkham and Chamberlin tent, 6; Holt and DeLamater 
tent, Ahern tent, each, 5 ; Pierce, Barker, Rogers and Burnell 
tent, Bryant, Sobieralski, Pimm and Cadwell tent, each, 3 ; 
Schults and Barrows tent, Henderson tent, each, 2; Tent 17, 
Tent 3, Fisher, Silvernail, Brown, VV. H., Gillette, Johnson, \V. 
C, Thompson, Vibert, McKone and Tinkham, each, i. Prob- 
ably this vote will appear somewhat undecisive. Some may 
have had in mind the Portland tent ; others, those at Camp 
Alger. Possibly the onh' thing settled by this vote is that in 
regard to first place. About that there can be no doubt. The 
writer has separated and analyzed the various and somewhat 



"jQ PERSONAL. 

confused answers as best he could, as to the other contestants. 
One member repHed : " If it was, who had the worst, I would 

say, Roberts." 

******* 

The most popular regimental officer is Major Schulze. 
The vote is : Major Schulze, 86 ; Lieutenant Colonel Hammond, 
7; Chaplain Kelsey, 2; Colonel Burdett, i. 

******* 

The most popular surgeon is Lieutenant McCook, his vote 
running well ahead of his ticket and making his election prac- 
tically unanimous. The votes cast is as follows : Lieutenant 
McCook, 90; Major Rockwell, 2; Private McKee, i ; Lieutenant 

Griswold, o. 

******* 

In case of another war and the regiment was going into 
battle, the members express the following preferences for 
officers to take command: To lead the regiment, Schulze, 61 ; 
Hammond, 21; Burdett, 3. To command the company: 
Waterman, 42 ; Saunders; 38; Moore, 2 ; Newton, 2. One 
member replies: " Saunders, for he generally keeps his wits 
about him and does the right thing at the right time " 
Another, apparently trembling at the very thought, answers: 
"By giminy, I wouldn't want Burdett!! Hammond, that 

regular, is the man." 

******* 

The duties of the First Sergeant are, without doubt, the 
most trying of any which it falls to the lot of a soldier to per- 
form. This fact should be kept in mind in considering the 
answers to the question, " How did the First Sergeant perform 
the duties of his position?" Here are some of the answers: 
"As good as could be expected;" " He could have done much 
better ;" "As well as he could ;" " His treatment of the men was 
anything but commendable;" "Upon the whole, very well, but 
his whining manner and lack of tact and system gained him 
the ill will of the men;" "Very faithfully;" " He lacked tact 



PERSONAL. Tl 

and was quite unsatisfactory;" " Pretty fair;" "Very poorly;" 
"Acceptably;" " Unmilitary ;" " Rotten. His reports may have 
been O. K. but the details were made with very apparent par- 
tiality ;"" Mediocre ;" "On the hog;" "He made to much 
of his position ;" "On the bum;" "Very well, considering;" 
" He did nothing in a decent manner but in the meanest and 
most unmilitary manner possible. In fact, rotten ;"" Awk- 
ward, thick-headed manner;" "Rotten. He was too mean to 
the men;" " He lacked tact;" "Those that didn't stand in with 
him got the blunt of it. I'm not afraid of him He can't lick 
me, big as he is;" " He did as well as any one could but had 
an underhanded way of doing things;" "With a rare show of 
partiality and in any but a military manner. He lacked tact 
and good judgment, though having much to contend with;" 
"In my estimation, all right;" "Like the south end of a livery 
stable, going north;" "With amazing incompetency, partiality, 
meanness, slowness and to cut a long story short, simply rotten ;" 
"He did as well as I could in his place, it was a hard place;" 
"Very well, when social duties didn't interfere;" " I think Sam 
did his damnedest to do right but — but — let us draw a veil over 
this distressing topic of conversation ;" " It was a hard position 
to fill but I think our top-notcher could handle a company 
of ladies much easier, of which occupation he was very fond;" 
" Hard position to fill-room for improvement;" "Faithfully and 
but for his womanishness would have been more popular with 
us;" "Well, considering the material;" "Halt and half;" "Can't 
complain;" "Sordidly;" "Very rotten;" "Rank to rotten." 
Two members each say: "Fair;" "Passably good;" "Kitten, 
rooten, rotten." Three members each say: " Might have done 
better;" "Fair to rotten;" "Satisfactorily;" " Frst class." 
Four members each say: "Very well;" " Fairly well;" "Well 
enough." Five members say: "All right." Eight members 
simply say: " Rotten ;" " Very poorly." " He was too easily 
irritated and too willing to soak some willing non-kicker in place 
of some shirk who made a blutT to get out of it. In short, he 
didn't have back-bone enough for his job." this is opinion of 
one member. " He should have had an assisant ;" says another. 



78 PERSONAL. 

Private Knox is elected the loudest snorer, though Jack 
Brutus snored well, considering the nasal combinations against 
him. In fact it might be said that "Jack" Knox and Jack 
Brutus, together, lead the whole company by the nose. One 
member writes : " Brutus was pushed pretty hard by Corporal 
Gruener. They slept in the next tent to me and I used to wake 
up in the middle of the night, hearing an awful noise in 
Gruener's tent. I lay there one night and wondered which it 
was, Brutus or Gruener, till, at last, to satisfy my curiosity, I 
got up and found that the dog was quiet and all the noise came 
from Gruener." Another member answers : " Knox and the 
dog, both. I know them well for I have slept with both dogs." 
Another member writes: "John Brutus Knox." Another: 
"McGrath, aside from Jack." The vote is as follows: Knox, 
48; Brutus, 33; Fulton, 2; Henry L. Huntington, 2; Gruener, 
Nunan, S. G. Huntington, Jos. Burnell, Moran, Marvel, McGrath, 
R. A. Case and Gale, one each. 

******* 

The vote for the best natured member of the company is 
scattered among twenty-four men, showing that a large pro- 
portion of the company were remembered with kindly 
feeling by their comrades. This ballot is as follows : Barker, 
Webster, Fulton, Jos. Burnell, Pattison, Jack Brutus, Frank 
Denison, Sanderson, Ahern, Dickinson, Gillette, each i ; 
Bryant, Corporal Pierce, Dimock, Silvernail, Jeremiah Morgan, 
Fowler, Bassett, each 2 ; Marvel, Walsh, each 3 ; DeLamater, 
4; Gruener, 5 ; R. A. Case, 15 ; Thayer, 34. No one has a 
majority, hence the result, under the Connecticut constitution, 
rests with the legislature. 

While there were found to be many good natured men in 
the company, the next ballot shows also some twenty members 
who, like boys at school playing hookey, delighted in playing 
shirk. The vote for the biggest shirk is as follows : Bryant, 
23 ; Barrows, Knox, each 12; F. C. Burnell, 9; R. A. Case, 4; 



PERSONAL. 79 

Tinkham, Ashwell, Brigham, each 3 ; Converse, Fulton, 
Kirkley, each 2; Landerman, Dwyer, Rogers, Hynes, First 
Sergeant, Judson. Rowland, Walsh, Shea, each i. Here too, 

no one has a majority. 

******* 

The number of lazy men in the company is not so 
large. The vote results in the election of Private Knox, by a 
majority of only one vote, however. The governor of 
Massachusetts was also once elected by a majority of only one 
vote, hence Knox, at once, finds himself in distinguished com- 
pany. The vote: Knox, 41 ; Bryant, 17; Kirkley, 4; Ashwell, 
Barrows, each 3; F. C. Burnell, Barker, each 2; Brigham, 
R. A. Case, D. E. Brown, Rowland. Fulton, Shea, Molloy, 
Walsh, Wiley, each i. One member answers, "It is hard to 
say who was the laziest. We had several laziest." Another 
replies: " Too much competition. I think I w^on." 
******* 

The contest as to the worst kicker had a large field of 
entries. The result showed such a close vote that the official 
returns were found necessary to determine that there was no 
election. F. E. Denison had 1 1 votes and Brigham the same. 
Barker and Judson were also tied for second place, each re- 
ceiving 8 votes. Barrows and F. C. Burnell were tied for 
third place, each receiving 7 votes. The other candidates 
were: Knox, 6; Henry L. Huntington and Converse, each 2; 
Corporal Pierce, Denniston, Campbell, R. A. Case, Sarvan, 
Fulton, Fisher, Bryant, W. C. Johnson, Rathbun, and Tink- 
ham, each one. 



* * 



The canvass to determine w^ho of the 106 men was the 
greatest eater has brought about some curious results. Henry 
L. Huntington started off with a good lead but the friends of 
Fulton soon began to rally about him and from that hour the 
contest grew closer and closer. In short, the right of either 
to the title of being the greatest eater became day by day 
more and more uncertain and precarious till it w^as little less 



80 PERSONAL. 

than a hand to mouth affair. Some of the friends of Thayer, 
later in the contest, undertook to run him in as a sort ot dark 
brown horse but the attempt failed. In the end the result was ; 
Fulton, 24; H. L. Huntington, (including 4 for "Red 
Muzzier") 17; Thayer, 11; Bryant, Landerman and Beau- 
champ, each 3 ; Kirkley, Converse, W. H. Brown, each 2 ; 
Low, Boniface, Barker, Henderson, D. E. Brown, Marvel, M. 
A. Pierce, VV. O. Case, Jack, Barber, Schults, Shea and Ward, 
each one. One member writes : "I honestly believe, in cool 
weather, Geo. B. Thayer is the biggest eater." Another, re- 
calling the first rations of field corn at Camp Alger, answers : 
"Thayer (9 ears of corn)." Another swears to this state- 
ment: " Beauchamp. He would go around four times and 

then kick." 

******* 

The freshest member — here again no one has a majority 
but Barker comes within two of it. The vote (including three 
for " Willie Sponge ") is as follows: Barker, 41 ; F. C. Burnell, 
9; Landerman, 7; R. A. Case, Sobieralski, each 5; Tinkham, 
3 ; Camp, 2 ; Bryant, 2 ; Shea, Hynes, Kober, Wheeler, 
Judson, Molloy, Marvel, Walsh, each one. 

There is less diversity of opinion upon the next question 
— who was the biggest tank. Among other big tanks, the 
most famous, perhaps, is the Heidelberg tun, a tank capable 
of holding 49,000 gallons or, in more familiar terms, 800,000 
glasses of beer. Yet, 50 members of the company notwith- 
standing, think the biggest tank is Private Chamberlin. One 
member thinks " the straws lie between Chamberlin and 
Bryant." Two others reminds us that " Barker could hold 
nearly as much as his uncle." The vote is: Chamberlin, 51 ; 
Bryant, 10; R. A. Case, 8; Camp and Barker, each 5; 
Driscoll, Fisher, McLaughlin, Jeremiah Morgan and Walsh, 

each one. 

******* 

Private Dimock, b\- a large plurality, is found to have 
been the most generous member in the company with which 



PERSONAL. 8 1 

decision his own tent mates fully concur. The vote was : 
Diniock, 27; Corporal Pierce, 9; Gruener, 7; Nunan and 
Thayer, each 5; Holt, 4; Silvernail, W. O. Case, Scharper, 
McGrath, each 3 ; Gillette, Bassett, Hall, Fowler, S. G. Hun- 
tington, each 2 ; Captain Saunders, Walsh, Dwyer, Landerman, 
Sanderson, Webster and Beebe, each one. One member says : 
"The most generous were Sergeants Sam Huntington ( ?) and 
Bob Beebe (?)(two for one)." 

******* 

Twenty-three ditlerent men in the compan\' were looked 
upon by one or more of their comrades as the most accommo- 
dating, which speaks well for the average accommodating spirit 
in the command. The vote is as follows : Nunan, 16 ; Gruener, 
13; Thayer, 10; Silvernail, Fowler, each 5; Corporal Pierce 
and Dimock, each 4; Gillette, Beebe, Holt, and S. G. Hunting- 
ton, each 3 ; Walsh, Bassett and DeLamater, each 2 ; Gale, 
Chamberlin, Hatton, Waterman, Wolcott, Scharper, Webster, 
McKee and Sanderson, each one. 

******* 

Who was the biggest gambler? The canvass of the votes 
upon this question produced such a surprising state of facts 
that a recount was at once ordered. The result, however, was 
the same. Some one in the company thinks that Private 
Webster was the biggest gambler in it. The first impulse of 
the canvasser in stumbling upon this vote, was to suppress the 
damaging fact but he soon saw his only course was to let the 
truth be known. But Webster did not receive all the votes for 
the biggest gambler. There are others. The oflicial count or 
recount is: Bryant, (including 3 for "Fat" Bryant) 25; 
Driscoll, (including 3 for "The Duke") 21 ; Carroll, 15 ; Cor- 
poral Johnson, 8; Shea, 6; Rowland, 3; Hollis, 2; Ahern, 2; 
Corporal Pierce, Scharper, McKone and Webster, each one. 
******* 

Will wonders never cease ! Not only is Webster thought 
to be the biggest gambler but some one else claims Corporal 



82 PERSONAL. 

Sanderson is the most profane. Possibly the same mistake was 
made in his case as was made in that of Private Hawkins of 
Company F, charged, during his trial by court martial at Port- 
land, with excessive use of profanity. The evidence was that 
Hawkins was simply reciting portions of scripture, which the 
ungodly mistook for swearing. The vote is: Hollis, 23 ; R. A. 
Case, 16; Camp, 10; Tinkham, 9: McGrath, 8; Barker, 4; 
Landerman, 3 ; Jeremiah Morgan, 2 ; Bryant, Frank Denison, 
Marvel, Dickinson, Webster and Sanderson, each one. One 
member is of the opinion that, in the matter of swearing, "the 
company had a super-abundance of good(?) material." 
Another member puts it this way : " The whole damn company 

was 'most profane'." 

******* 

One member of the company, possibly now that he is out 
of it, dares to vote Captain Saunders the homeliest one in it. 
But upon this subject there is a great diversity of opinion. 
The vote is : Kirkley, 13; Rogers, 10; Rathbun, (including i 
for "Cross-bones") 7; H. L. Huntington, (including 3 for 
"The Red Muzzier") 6; Marvel, 6; Beauchamp, Jeremiah 
Morgan, Barker, each 5 ; Walsh and Hynes, each 3 ; Thomp- 
son, Molloy, each 2 ; McGrath, Bryant, Sherman, Hatton, 
Corporal Pierce, Nunan, Joseph Burnell, Borland, Dickinson, 
Chamberlin and Captain Saunders, each one. One member 
claims "Thompson, when shaved," was the homeliest. Another 
claims Rogers was the homeliest in the regiment. A third 
says : " Corporal Johnson was the worst looking mug." Still 
another replies : " All coons look alike to me." 
******* 

The company beauties are many. In the opinion of 
eighteen members Private Zoller was the handsomest soldier, 
while sixteen members took Sergeant Holt as their type of 
beauty. On the other hand, eleven of Private Marion's 
comrades saw in him the handsomest man in the company. 
The vote in detail is as follows: Zoller, 18; Holt, 16; Marion, 
11; Sanderson, 9; Fred R. Denison, 6; Campbell, 4; Marvel, 



PERSONAL. 83 

Gale and Scharper, each 3 ; W. H. Brown, 2 ; Silvernail, Bryant, 
Dickinson, Fulton, Brighani, S. G. Huntington and Gruener, 
each one. One answer was : " The whole company are beau- 
ties." Another replied : " My innate modesty forbids an 
answer." Another answered : " Otis, of course." " Where do 
you mean? Down at Alger? We were all beauties down 
there," says another. 

******* 

Among the sleepy members in the company, the name of 
" Reuben " Morley, now long absent but not forgotten, is found 
upon one of the ballots. The vote upon this question is more 
scattered than upon any other, thus far no less than twenty- 
eight members being looked upon by one or more of their 
comrades as the sleepiest. The vote is as follows: Rowland, 
(including several for "Chick" Rowland), 16; Knox, 8; 
Kirkley and Marvel, each 7; Ashwell, 5; Wiley, Ahern, D. 
E. Brown, Brigham and Bryant, each 4; Holt and Hayden, 
each 2 ; McKone, Dwyer, Corporal Johnson, Hollis, Camp, 
Pimm, Fulton, S. G. Huntington, W. C. Johnson, Beebe, 
Driscoll, Hynes, Ripley, VV. O. Case, Converse, " Reuben " 
Morely and Landerman, each one. 



No election since the Hayes-Tilden campaign in 1876 has 
been more exciting nor was the result in any election for a long 
period ever more in doubt than in the contest now just brought 
to a close to determine which member of Company K was the 
" greatest one to whine about himself." The early returns 
seem to insure the election of Barrows, but when the results in 
the smaller cities and towns became known, it was evident 
Brigham was polling a handsome vote, leading all other 
candidates and running far ahead of his ticket. The fickleness 
of political fortune, however, is proverbial and the present is 
no exception to the rule. The later returns from the country 
districts showed that Brigham was losing heavily and when the 
result in Barkhamsted was thrown upon the canvass, the defeat 



84 PERSONAL. 

of Brigham became overwhelming. The vote shows the 
triumphant election of Barrows by a large majority over all 
other competitors: Barrows, 50; Brigham, 22; Barker, 4; 
Frank Denison, Tinkham, Bryant, R A. Case, Driscoll, 
Rogers, Judson, Shea, F. C. Burnell and "Jack" Boniface, 
each one. One member meets the question by a plea of 
" Guilty — seven and costs." 

******* 

Snaps? Who were looking for the softest ones? Well, 
two members say: "Everybody was looking for them," and " I 
never found enough of them," says another. Another replies: 
" No choice, each was looking for them " " Judson," another 
answers, "yet he did the most work." The vote is: Knox, 34 
R. A. Case, 10; Bryant, 9; Barrows and Brigham, each 3 
Fulton, Boniface, Hollis, Cannon, Barker and Kirkley, each 2 
S. G.Huntington, Marvel, F. C. Burnell, Judson, Marion, Row- 
land, Converse, Gale and Ahern, each one. 

******* 

The greatest masher at Portland is found to be First 
Sergeant Huntington, though Private Tinkham polls within one 
as many votes. One member writes : " Tinkham, but all did 
their share, except George Thayer," unconsciously dropping 
into rhyme. Another answers: "There were too many to 
mention." Another: "Hard to tell." The vote is scattered 
among sixteen members as follows: S. G. Huntington, 27; 
Tinkham, 26; McKee, 7; Scharper, 6; Carroll and Fisher, 
each 3 ; Dickinson, Cadwell, each 2 ; F. C. Burnell, R. A. 
Case, Wiley, Kirkley, Brigham, Captain Saunders, Ashwell and 
Sobieralski, each one. 

******* 

The worst, or possibly he might be called the best 
borrower, was Private Bryant, though several others have not 
been forgotten. One member mentions : " Fulton, except 
money." The vote shows a large class of borrowers, 28 in all, 
as follows : Bryant, 20 ; Marion, 10; Rogers and Landerman, 



PERSONAL. 85 

each 6; Barker, 5; Fulton, 4; F. E. Denison, 3; Brigham 
and Chaniberlin, each 2 ; Campbell, Carroll, Dickinson, Row- 
land, Barber, Bassett, Fisher, Beebe, Sherman, Clapp, Cannon, 
Judson, Camp, Kirkley, Molloy, Nunan, Driscoll, Converse, 
Walsh and Boniface, each one. 

******* 

Private R. A. Case is easily the brightest or wittiest mem- 
ber, if his comrades are any judge. In voting for him one 
member says "Bobby Case — snorers and snorters are insepara- 
ble." Another member votes for " Sachel-back " Rogers. 
The vote is as follows; R. A. Case, 38; Camp, 12; Corporal 
Pierce, 8; Walsh, 7; Thayer, 6; Fulton, 3; De Lamater, 
Sobieralski and Scharper, each 2 ; Landerman, McKone, 
Knox, Captain Saunders and Rogers, each one. 

How did " Mac," our cook, perform the duties of his 
position? Let the members speak: " No other company in 
the entire service fared as well and all on account of " Mac;" 
" Very well and very sacrificingly ;" "He was the whole thing ;" 
" Hunt the United States over and you can't find a better;" 
" He will always be remembered by the boys as deserving all 
praise;" " He treated all alike and did more than was expected 
of him ;" " He had his failings, but they were personal and did 
not affect his being the best cook in the regiment;" "He dis- 
charged his duties with a care, zeal and understanding that was 
pleasant to look upon and will always be a happy memory;" 
" The boys have lots to thank him for;" "An excellent cook 
with an ungovernable temper, who would become angry and 
be over it in a minute, always accommodating and on the 
lookout for the welfare of the sick;" "There was little room 
for improvement;" "Through the medium of fire — Buzza- 
cott outfit, the best cook in the regiment;" " As only a Mac 
could ;" " To the letter ;" " Could have done no more for us ;" 
" Out of sight ;" "Great;" "Damned well;" "On the top 
notch;" "Splendid;" "Damned tine;" " i8-carat pure;" 
"Bang-up." Two members say: "Perfectly;" four, "Excel- 



86 PERSONAL. 

lent;" six, "First-class;" ten,"0. K;' ten, " All right ;" 
three, " A No. i ;" four, "Well;" four, "Good;" eight, 
"Could not have done better;" two, " Very satisfactorily ;" 
two, " Best in regiment;" four, " Very well, indeed ;" six, 
" Fine." And the writer would like to add that no work in 
preparing this history has been more pleasant to him than 
compiling this feature of it — a record with no word of com- 
plaint in it, from beginning to end. 



Among the other regiments at Camp Alger, the one most 
popular with Company K was the Third Virginia, why is not 
difificult to discern. These are some of the answers : " We 
had a good chance to snub them and didn't, but treated them 
the best we knew how ;" "Because they were our opposites 
in so many ways;" "We got along with them the best;" 
"They were very friendly ;" "Our first friends after we left 
home;" " Treated us kindly every time we called;" "They 
came to us and made friends and were a capital crowd of 
soldiers;" " Most sociable ;" " Treated us better;" "They 
were gentlemen ;" "Because of their polite manners ;" "Because 
we stopped the riot." The vote was: Third Virginia, 05 ; 
Seventh Ohio and .Sixty-fifth New York, each 3 ; First New 
Jersey, 2 ; Eighth, Twelfth and Thirteenth Pennsylvania, each 
one. One member answers: "The Twelfth and Eighth Penn- 
sylvania, because of the beer and whiskey they sold. When 
we had such stuff ourselves the Virginias were the most 
popular." Two of the members in voting for the Sixty-fifth 
New York say: " They were popular because of their beer." 

When the result of this ballot became known the writer 
communicated the fact to Colonel H. Nalle of the Third Virginia 
and incidentally mentioned the fact that Company K was the 
first to reach the hospital grounds on the night of August 8th. 
The writer added, however, that he hoped the Virginians did 
not take K's promptness as evidence of any unfriendly feeling 
in the matter. The following letter has been received in reply: 



personal. 87 

Commonwealth of Virginia, 
Adjutant-General's Office, 

Richmond, Va., April 6, 1899. 

Mr. Geo. B. Thayer, Hartford, Co}ui.: 

Dear Sir: — I was greatly pleased to receive your letter 
of the 2d of March, last, in which you very kindly gave me the 
result of a vote taken by your company to ascertain " which 
regiment at Camp Alger was the most popular with Company 
K," of your regiment, the First Connecticut. 

Let me thank you, most sincerely, for having thus advised 
me of the feeling entertained for us, of the Third Virginia, by 
your company. The feeling is reciprocated, I assure you, and 
the First Connecticut will always hold a warm place in the hearts 
of the Third Virginia. 

You need be under no apprehensions that the action of 
your regiment, on the evening in August, last, to which you 
referred, was misunderstood, in the least, by any of us. You 
received an order, and, like true soldiers as you were, 
you obeyed it. There was nothing else to do. Your 
letter reached me while I was in attendance upon three of my 
children, who were then critically ill, and one of whom, an ex- 
ceedingly bright and interesting little boy, of three and a half 
years, lately died. 

Knowing these facts, you will, 1 am sure, pardon the delay 
in replying to your letter. 

Very truly yours, 

W. Nalle. 
******* 

Did the members save up or send home any money? That 
question seemed to paralyze most of them. See what they say : 
" I sent home one dollar because I thought I might want to 
borrow a dollar and so would be sure to get it when I asked;" 
" Yes, I sent home some once but drew it out at the ratio of 
16 to I ;" " No, broke in twenty-four hours after I was paid, 
every time;" "No, I was a private;" "Yes, but it was'nt 



88 PERSONAL. 

exactly from my governmental pay but rather from my poker- 
al pay;" "A soldier can save money only by being either in 
the guard-house or hospital all the time. As I was in neither 
I saved none;" " Hully gee, no;" "Yes, in pig's eye;" 
" Divil a cent;" " Barrell full;" "Not so's you'd notice it ;" 
" Not a damned cent." In all some twenty-five members 
answered "yes," and sixty, "no." One member replied: "If the 
truth were known I spent upwards of one hundred dollars 
more than the dear government paid me." 



Shall we keep the entire group of Philippine Islands? 
Here are some of the opinions of the members: " It will be a 
great mistake to keep ihem ;" " Only a coal station ;" " Yes, 
we won them, so keep them ;" " Not if Japan or any other 
civilized nation will give us $200,000,000 for them;" "We 
went through enough to keep them;" "Yes, if such men as 
McKinley say keep them ;" " Yes, if there is anything in it for 
us." In all forty-seven members say " yes," and twenty-four 

say " no." 

******* 

In politics the members expressed themselves as follows: 
Republicans, 55 ; Democrats, 8; Prohibitionists. 7. 

******* 

Did love for the Cubans enter in as a motive for enlisting? 
Two members answer "Yes; " one, "a little; " one "sympathy, 
partly." The others answer, " No." 

******* 

Company F received every vote in answer to the question : 
" Which was the most popular company in the regiment." 

******* 

Finally, what is the opinion of the members in respect to 
the treatment of them by the State of Connecticut and the 
United States government? Here it is: "We had poor clothes, 
rotten tents and were forgotten by the state;" " We fared as 



PERSONAL. 89 

well as a soldier could expect;" "The state sent us off with 
clothes and tents which the government at once condemned, 
but the state furnished good rations;" " Tentage was rank;" 
"Our hay-making governor was the cause of our being far he- 
hind other states in equipments, at the outset;" " Incompetent 
jack-asses occupying positions secured by political influence 
was the cause of the ill-use by the government;" "The state 
was decidedly parsimonious ;" "Connecticut treated us very 
shabbily, by comparison, our tents and equipments being very 
poor ; " "U.S. rations were very poor for a hot climate and we 
were too many in a tent;" " Connecticut, through its chief 
executive, brought us into discredit by his supine neglect and 
inefficiency. The war department, represented by the West 
Pointers, showed its contempt for us volunteers, who eventually 
bear the burdens of supporting those aristocratic paupers with 
high salaries and subsistence that they may lord it over the 
civilians;" "The State of Connecticut is the most miserable 
piece of property on the face of the earth;" "We were charged 
too much tor our clothes but our rations were all right;" "No 
complaint except leaky tents ;" "Poor clothes and leaky tents, 
rotten to the core;" "Connecticut treated us very mean;" "We 
had reasons to kick about our tents;" "The dear State of 
Connecticut never treated us anywhere near right. Six in a 
tent made sleeping anything but comfortable;" " No use to 
kick now;" "No kick except against the old corn field we 
camped on ;" "The tents were so rotten we might as well have 
been outside;" " Connecticut treated us about as mean as it 
could;" " I would cut my head off before I would volunteer 
again, knowing how Connecticut treated us;" "The tents Con- 
necticut gave us were full of dents;" "Connecticut apparently 
waited to see what other states were going to do in getting their 
quota full. Our uniforms were seven years old and much worn. 
Our tents were rotten and full of holes. Plenty of new tents 
were in possession of the state at the time. Our authorities 
seemed to think our regiment would cost a little money. Our 
transportation from Niantic home should have been paid by the 

7 



90 PERSONAL. 

state, as other states did;" "When, by some mistake we were 
overpaid $6, the State of Connecticut began crying like a 
school boy 'I want my money back.' This is only an instance 
of the way Connecticut treated its volunteers ;" " Connecticut 
treated us shabbily enough. Gave us tents that had been con- 
demned three years before;" " I want to kick a little but least 
said soonest mended ;" "Connecticut showed herself close and 
grasping;" "I was a 'Rookey' so Connecticut did not have a 
chance at me;" " Through an oversight no sash was issued 
with which to decorate the holes in the tents doubtless intended 
as windows;" " Connecticut was ungrateful in giving us poor 
tents, in trying to make us pay high prices for old uniforms 
and in taking no interest in our welfare while at Camp Alger;" 
"My only kick is, we didn't get into a fight." Many of the above 
answers are substantially repeated by others not given. In all, 
but 15 members answer: "I have no fault to find." Another 
says : "Yes I have fault to find. I think the reason wh\' there 
was so much apparently needless sickness, hardships and dis- 
comfort in the big military camps, might be summed up in 
these three words : Incompetency of Officers. They did not 
know how to take care of their men, nor how to make a vigor- 
ous kick for necessaries in the way of equipment, food and 
medicine. Then, besides this, there was a big undercurrent of 
politics and boodle that was constantly creating trouble. You 
will find plenty of men in small country towns, in this state, who 
personify the characteristics displayed by Connecticut towards 
her volunteers. They are close-fisted, narrow-minded, ' small ' 
kind of people, who applaud when others do a generous thing, 
but never do one themselves." 



RATION ALLOWANCE. 

To each one hundred men in the army the government 
issued, each day, the following rations: 125 pounds of fresh 
beef or 75 pounds of bacon or mess pork; 112^2 pounds of 



PERSONAL. 91 

flour or its equivalent in hard tack, bread or corn meal; 10 
pounds of coffee; 15 pounds of sugar; 10 quarts of beans, 
split peas or rice; lOO pounds of vegetables, potatoes, onions 
or tomatoes (canned) ; plenty of salt, pepper and vinegar. 

At Camp Alger each company could draw fresh meat 
seven days and salt meat three days in every ten days. Once 
in ten days 125 pounds of canned salmon could be drawn in lieu 
of fresh meat. The fresh meat could not be commuted but the 
salt meat could be and the flour also. In case the allowance 
of these last were not all drawn, the balance, at the end of each 
ten days was paid to the company commandant in cash. Eight 
cents a pound was allowed for the salt meat and three cents a 
loaf for the bread. The amount thus commuted by Co. K. 
during five weeks at Camp Alger was $152.16. This sum was 
used for the purchase of eggs, lamb chops, sausages, sweet 
potatoes, green corn and other extras. During the thirty day 
furlough the men were allowed twenty-five cents a day for 
rations. While at the armory, waiting to be mustered out and 
until finally paid off, November 7, 1898, the men were allowed 
fifty cents a day for rations. 

NICKNAMES. 

What's in a uame ? 

That which we call a rose, 

By any other name would smell as sweet. 

— Shakespeare. 

Captain Saunders, " Don Garcia Maceo," " Corkscrew." 
Lieutenant Valentine, " Old Business," " 14th February." 
First Sergeant Huntington, "Black Muzzier," "Top 

Notcher." 
Sergeant Beebe, " Boree Eyed Beeb." 

" DeLamater, " Ragged Richard." 
" H. L. Huntington, " Red Muzzier." 

Holt, " Captain's Pet." 
" Boniface, " Bonnie Sergeantface." 



92 PERSONAL, 

Corporal Carroll, "Natty." 
" Johnson, " Joss." 
" Silvernail, " Slippery Top." 
" Wheeler, " Side Wheeler." 
" Dvvyer, " Pop." 
" Pierce, " Ramrod," " Old Man." 
" Ward, "Eddie Winders." 
" Gruener, " Dixie." 
" Campbell, " Scottie." 

Low, " Billy." 
" Sanderson, " Sibyl." 
Musician Camp, " Scamp," "Young man." 

" Ashwell, " Sheepskin Bob." 
Artificer Rowland, " Chick." 

Wagoner Ahern, "Bronco Buster," " Mulei^Skinner." 
Private Barrows, " Sissy." 
" Barker, " Uncle." 

Bassett, " Mother." 
" Bryant, " Hoppie." 
" Brigham, " Whiner." 
" W. O. Case, " Cynthia." 
" Dickinson, " May." 
" Driscoll, " Duke." 
" Fisher, " Pogey." 
" Fulton, " Spike Hennessey." 
" Gale, " Rookie." 
" Gillette, " Secret Service." 
" Hynes, " Regular Army." 
HoUis, " Mother Metcalf." 
" Humphrey, " Hump." 
" Judson, " Chang." 
" Johnson, " Bud." 
" Knox, " Chain lightning." 

" Landerman, " Isaacs," " Buzz Saw," '^ " Collar 
buttons." 
Marvel, " Ikey." 



PERSONAL. 93 



ate Marion, " May." 

McGrath, " Sow Belly." 
McKee, " Doctor," 
Molloy, "Dog Robber." 
Morley, " Sleeping Jesus. 
Nunan, " Yank." 
Pierce, " Old Buckskin." 
Rathbun, " Rattle bones.' 
Ripley, " Snorter." 
Schults, " Major." 
Shea, " One Horse." 
Sobieralski, " Fiddler." 
Thayer, "Joggie." 
Tinkham, " Ding Dong." 
Vibert, " School Teacher. 
Walsh, "Judge." 
Webster, " Noah." 
Wheelock, "Birdie." 
Wiley, " Butcher." 



FORT KNOX— FORT PREBLE, 



BY PRIVATE ALFRED B. PIMM. 



I well remember the Sunday of May ?2, 1S98, one of 
those lovely spring days when the sunshine so warms us and 
the soft blowing zephyrs, laden with the perfume of blossoms, 
fill the nostril and make even the poor soldier " glad he is 
livin'." The First Connecticut had been under canvass at 
Niantic for a little over two weeks and, seated in the spacious 
tent at headquarters across the field, I could hear the merry 
shouts of the basket-ball kickers, the base-ball fiends begging 
the batter to " line 'er out," and even the spectators of some 
boxing match, coaxing their favorites to hit harder and more 
often, while from another part of the camp came the strains of 
some popular melody, the distance blending the various sounds 
into one joyous uproar. 

Why shouldn't we be happy? Had we not been promised 
we would see active service? The First Connecticut was the 
only regiment we knew anything about ; of course the President 
knew of us too and would surely prefer us to any other in 
helping to drive the accursed Spaniard from Cuba. No doubt 
of that and most of us could already see our names inscribed 
in the "American Soldier's Temple of Fame." We were 
assured by those in authority that it was only a question of 
time before we started south. A question of time? Yes, yes, 
they were right after all, but 

On the afternoon of this glorious day, the ofiicers, at 
the call of the colonel, journeyed across the field to head- 
quarters, with elastic step and smiling faces ; possibly they 
thought the long looked-for orders had arrived, but no, nothing 



INDIVIDUAL. 95 

had been heard as yet from Washington. The gallant 
commander had, however, received a bran new map of Cuba, 
which he trotted out to his own undisguised pleasure. He 
explained in a most elaborate manner the situation of the 
many cities, the provinces controlled by the Cubans and those 
held by the Spanish, pronouncing with easy versatility the 
tongue-twisting names of those towns and villages, etc., — when 
out of the clear sky came a thunder-bolt that knocked even the 
poor orderly speechless for a time. A courier, coming post- 
haste from Fort Trumbull, had arrived, carrying the startling 
news that the First Connecticut was destined to do coast 
defence dut\'; all split up! no head! no tail!! no Cuba!!! 
Of what was the President thinking? Surely there must be some 
mistake, but no, the orders were explicit. The map of Cuba 
disappeared ; no one knew where it went, no one cared. For 
a moment all was confusion, but with the promise that the 
wires to Washington would be kept hot, the assembly dispersed. 
With slow, measured tread, with heads bowed, the officers 
thoughtfully and mournfully returned to the officers' street. 
******** 

The next day Companies F and K started for Fort Preble, 
Maine, and C for Fort Constitution, New Hampshire, followed 
a few days later by E and I for Plum Island and B for Gull 
Island, New York. What a change! Dear old K had gone! 
The four companies that were left were lonesome and an air of 
desolation permeated the camp. The ghost-white tents that 
once seemed tilled to o'erflowing with life and fun, now stood 
like spectres of the grave yard of the dead ; while the rain fell 
in ceaseless torrents, drenching us, chilling us to the bone and 
as we splashed through the puddles, we came to the conclusion 
that army life " aint what it's cracked up to be." Hut finally the 
sun broke through our clouds of discouragement and ill-temper ; 
the remaining four companies were ordered to Fort Knox^ 
Maine, and it is to that place we will shift our scene, for I, acting 
as orderly to the colonel, and stenographer in the quarter- 
master's department, besides doing work for a number of other 



96 



INDIVIDUAL. 




'I ^ K I'.K I M . I'l Al M. 



INDIVIDUAL. 97 

illustrious personages on the staft", conimencGcl to get acquainted 
with the " high and mighties." It is away from honne, away 
from friends, away from all who are near and dear to us that 
the characteristics of the men we serve are seen in their 
true light. 

Allow me right here to indulge in a few harmless person- 
alities, the veracity of which can be confirmed by applying to 
any of the members of the Fort Knox companies, (A, D, G 
and H.) although possibly living as I did with them I have 
become somewhat better acquainted with their whims, fancies, 
eccentricities, etc. than the other enlisted men. 

First comes our gallant colonel whose chief and only cry 
was " On to Cuba" or to "Gather the dismembered regiment 
together and have it sent to some southern camp," while the 
majority of his staff, surmising that they would see no active 
service, preferred to stay on the cool banks of the Penobscot 
River rather than go south and bake under a tropical sun, but 
the)' held their peace. 

Major Hickey, next in command, quiet and unostentatious 
though he was, held the esteem and good will of all. 

Then comes dear, old Major Schulze, who, by his tact, 
earnestness and good-will, his kindness to even the most humble 
private, his hatred of all that was mean and unwholesome, placed 
him second to none in the hearts of the boys. Nor was his 
influence confined to the companies stationed at Fort Knox, 
but was as a guiding star wherever the bo\s of the First Con- 
necticut were encamped. With Major Schulze at our head, I 
think the boys would stave Hell's portals in. 

I also found the sterling quality of the make-up of Major 
Rockwell. From beginning to end, he fought dirt and filth 
with such aggressiveness that it is no wonder the healtfi of the 
camp was of such a high order. 

We were also blessed by ha\ing with us Assistant Surgeon 
McCook, whose magnanimity and whose untiring efforts towards 
the sick and the suffering, almost hallowed him in our eyes. 
Our mothers could not be more gentle or sympathetic than he. 



98 INDIVIDUAL. 

It mattered not to him whether the patient be some officer or a 
prisoner in the guardhouse, he did his best at all times with 
such tenderness that many of us could and will rise up and call 
him blessed. 

Lieutenant Bronson, our quartermaster, was popular, of 
course, with the boys; shall I say with the fair dames of Bucks- 
port also? It is needless. It was very apparent from his numerous 
trips across the river that he went over to see about something 
more than the governmental goods that came in, ever}' now and 
then, but of course I am not supposed to know. 

Nor must I forget our worthy chaplain. When we arrived 
at Fort Knox, all know that his chief cry was for "wood"; 
" wood for the stables ", " wood for the officers' floors ", " wood 
for the officers' eating place" and finally, "wood for the floors 
of the privates." It seemed strange to me then that the horses 
should have been thought of before the soldier boys, but ex- 
perience has taught me that strange things are happening all 
the time in military life. Horses cost money, you know, while 
privates can be picked up anywhere, gratis. 

Captain VVainwright, whose face was frescoed with a bushy 
substance resembling the trimmings of some nanny-goat's 
whiskers, was very much in evidence there. With Napoleonic 
vigor, he issued forty orders a day (more or less) forbidding 
the men to do this or that. A private seen drunk in Bucksport? 
" Then I'll issue an order that no man shall go to Bucksport 
unless he signs the pledge." This is of course a somewhat 
exaggerated statement on my part, but some of his orders were 
issued on this principle, which shows in what esteem he was held 
by his men. A private seen loafing about the store steps? 
(just outside of the governmental grounds) " No man shall 
leave the grounds without a pass." "All passes are void after 
6.30 at night." "No enlisted man shall go out of his company 
street after retreat." These were some of his orders To get a 
pass, this was the formula: The enlisted man applies to the 
first sergeant for a pass, who, in turn applies to his captain. 
All being satisfactory, he presents himself to the regimental 



INDIVIDUAL. 99 

sergeant major with side arms and musket. The R. S. M. 
examines his clothes, belt, gun and hat to see if any flaw may 
be found in his dress. If not, he is requested to repeat the 
General Orders. The private is then passed to Captain Wain- 
vvright, who looks him over and, with a gutteral sound resembling 
the growl of a dog, he signs the pass and the soldier can 
then pass through the lines for two or three hours. Laugh, 
ye men of the regular army; I am sure you never heard of 
a similar instance before and zae never want to again. Do, 
we, fellow privates? Court-martial was his uppermost thought 
when his men strayed, however little, from the straight and 
narrow path he marked out for them. 

While the line officers of the various companies for the 
most part upon being mustered into the service of Uncle Sam, 
assumed a rather haughty air toward the men in their com- 
mands, they soon found out that it did not pay as well as being 
human, so they came off their high perch a little. Captains 
Bailey, Leonard, Nichols and Mahoney of the Fort Knox 
companies fought for the comforts of their men, for fight 
they were obliged to at times and, while their lieutenants, being 
subordinate officers, did remarkably well in the performance 
of their duties, I wish to pay a special tribute to the first 
lieutenant of Company D, a man having many of the fine 
qualities and nearly the same name as his most worthy 
superior. Major Schulze. Lieutenant Schutz, though quiet 
and unassuming in his manner, dealt out justice to all, 
be he officer or private, bringing him very close to the 
hearts of not only his own men but to all with whom he 
came in contact. 

With the permission to join my company, on the 29th of 
June, 189S, I was once more with dear, old K at Fort Preble. 
What a life of freedom and good fellowship we led, how 
the hours seemed like minutes, how the girls seemed like 
angels after living so long in the woods around Fort Knox and, 
as I look back on those happy days, it seems more like a 
beautiful dream than a reality. Although we had the freedom 



lOO INDIVIDUAL. 

of South Portland, with its places of amusement, its fine surf- 
bathing and almost all that one could ask for, a K boy said to 
me one day, complainingly, " We cannot go to Portland without 
leaving our name with the first sergeant." With the memory 
of how a pass at Fort Knox had to be obtained fresh in my 
mind, I could not help but congratulate the boys of F and K 
that they belonged to the two most fortunate companies in the 
world. How different was the life; at Portland we had our 
drills and our work was consummated, we could then do what 
we wished ; at P^ort Knox, nothing but work, work, work, 
chopping down trees, for each company was obliged to chop 
their own fire wood as well as for the officers' mess, digging 
trenches, sinks, clearing land, repairing roads leading to the 
fort, making foot bridges, building steps up some very steep 
hills, etc., and yet, after the regiment was joined together, I 
heard several Fort Knoxers say the\' had better times than the 
companies at the other places, not excepting P"" and K at Fort 
Preble. If they really think so, I am glad but I imagine they 
would hardly wish to repeat their experience there. 

My life at Fort Preble was a most happy one but it was 
destined to be of short duration, for after living a few weeks 
there, orders were received to pack up and proceed to Niantic, 
where the regiment was to be once more collected, prior to our 
departure for Camp Alger. We bade our many friends an 
affectionate good-bye and, as the train moved from the station, 
we received a shower of " God-speeds " that seemed to me 
almost like a mighty benediction and, as we looked back from 
our now rapidK' moving cars, we could see handkerchiefs 
waving a farewell but some were wiping away tears. 

Colonel Burdett's prayer was finally answered ; the regi- 
ment was once more together; the regiment went South to 
Camp Alger where it remained until sent North to be mustered 
out. What good did we accomplish by going? It satisfied 
our colonel's ambition? Perhaps so. However, I cannot help 
but think what empty honors were bestowed upon him when 
I bring to mind the many brave fellows we have buried as a 
result of this ambition. 



SOCIETY AS WE HAVE FOUND IT. 



BY CORPORAL EDWARD F. SANDERSON. 

For a U. S. volunteer in time of war to enter into the mad 
whirl of social life is so decidedly anomalous and unmilitary 
that it is with mingled feelings of regret and shame that we 
chronicle the " society acts " of Company K. 

"The evil that men do li\es after them" and it is probably 
such "social stunts" as Boniface's "beautiful dancing," Holt's 
debonairity at theater parties and Fulton's trumping his part- 
ner's ace at the "Shore Whist Club " which will linger longest 
in the minds of the hospitable inhabitants of Portland and 
vicinity. 

Our first introduction to the social life of the place was a 
grand banquet and dance at the Unitarian Church. The captain 
and his staff having seated themselves and made sure of the best 
looking waitress in the room, the rank and file entered and the 
work of demolition commenced. Henry Huntington and 
George Thayer were tied for first place that night in the eating 
contest. The friends of Henry felt, as they saw his glorious 
work, that he had never been in better trim and confidently 
wagered their all on him. But the doughty little lawyer, though 
saying nothing, was quietly absorbing everything that came his 
way and when the last vestige of anything eatable had disap- 
peared he was still fresh and smiling while the blase lassitude 
depicted on Henry's face showed with unerring certaint}- the 
absolute repletion within. Had the ladies provided one more 
boiler of beans, the outcome might have been difterent. As it 
was, the six waitresses who had confined themselves solely to 
George and Henry held a meeting after the first effects of their 
exhausting labors were over and, after a heated debate, decided 



I02 



INDIVIDUAL. 



that it was a tie and that the first prize of one dozen loaves of 
bread would be divided equally between them. 

While they were consuming these, the floor was cleared for 
dancing and the blue blood of Knox, Eno and Marvel pulsated 
with unwonted activit)' as they glided over the polished floor, 
each with some seducti\"e siren imprisoned in his grasp, their 
languishing eyes seeming to say louder than any words, " Am 
I in heaven or is this only Portland?" And then, as thev 




" WAR IS HELL." 

Davidson, Richardson, Pierce, Calvocoresses, 

Cook. S. H. CampbeU. Bassett, McCook. Robbins, 

Fisher. Slivernai]. Carroll, Hawkins, Ackerm.Hn. 

Pickard, Dresser, Jones, Thayer. 

E. C. Green, R. A. Case. Ciark, Flagg. 

collided at the corners with McGrath and Ilumphre}-, (who 
were having troubles of their own on reversing) the\' came 
back to earth and fluttered out to get the cool night air and 
become better acquainted with their partners. It is so difificult 
to get acquainted in a crowded, brilliantly lighted ball room ! 



INDIVIDUAL. 103 

That night the maidens of Portland put Httle pieces of 
Avedding cake under their pillows and dreamed of McKee and 
Landerman and Kirkley and blushed even in sleep as the deli- 
cate compliments of " the handsome captain of Company K." 
flitted again in phantom procession through their brains. 
Everybody had had a " gorgeous time." De Lamater had 
forgotten for the time that he was married and Holt, that he 
was going to be, and all entered into the true spirit of the 
occasion. From that time forth, the world was ours, that is, 
as much of it as we could see with the naked eye from Pros- 
pect Hill. 

Dance followed dance till HoUis got his "hop walse " 
down to absolute perfection and Humphrey could reverse as 
easily as he had once caught flies on the " Unionville Terrors " 
baseball team. 

The large armor\- in Portland witnessed one of the swellest 
balls of the season. The carriages which rolled up to the door 
poured forth a steady stream cf the city's wealth and beauty. 
Everything was arranged on a lavish scale. Fulton did not 
discover till rather late that the large punch bowl at the end of 
the hall was not an individual cup for him, but when he was 
appraised of his mistake, he was most profuse in his apologies 
and gallantly filled it up with water. 

Interspersed with the series of dances came strawberry 
festivals, theatre parties, card parties, long rides and picnics, 
sails in and out among the islands of Casco Bay, clam-bakes, 
moonlight tete-a-tetes on the rocks, in fact every conceivable 
pleasure which a kind and indulgent people could invent or 
scare up was afl"orded us. P^very afternoon after three and every 
evening until ten, for two months, was one continuous whirl of 
social gaiety. 

Not that there were no drills nor fatigue duty, not that we 
did not stand our weary tours of guard duty and undergo the 
strictest of camp discipline, that goes without saying with 
Captain Saunders in command, (there was not a better drilled 
company nor a finer on parade in the whole regiment,) but 



I04 



INDIVIDUAL. 



when the camp duties were over there was ahvays something 
" going on " and the monotony of drill and guard duty were 
lightened to no small extent by the thoughts of some pleasant 
soiree when the work was finished. 

The gala time came at dress parade alter mess each even- 
ing. Clothes newly pressed, buttons polished, shoes shined, 
a white neckcloth and white gloves were required. Hundreds 
of gaily dressed summer girls stood on the hillside and watched 
with unstinted applause the machine like precision of the evo- 
lutions and manual of arms. 




SOCIETY AS WE LEFT IT, AT PORTLAND, SATURDAY, JILY l6, 1898. 



We were proud of that parade. Every man was on his 
mettle. The captain tells me that night after night he stood 
before those companies when not a man was a fraction of a 
second behind the rest from start to finish. Absolute 
precision ! It testifies that there was something more than the 
pursuit of social amenities in the two month's experience. 

After parade it was a sight for sore eyes to see the chic 
and laughing maiden gaily wandering off to all points of the 



INDIVIDUAL. 105 

compass with her liero in blue and the picture of Marvel, silhou- 
etted against the evening sky on the summit of Prospect Hill 
with a dream of angelic lovliness beside him, looking wistfully 
into his handsome face, was a study for Raphael or DeVinci. 

Mothers and sisters, wives and sweethearts came up from 
Hartford and New York. They were caught in the social whirl 
and chased the phantom of Happiness with the rest. 

One long sweet dream that was, until there came one 
morning the clarion notes of the bugle, sounding the assembly ; 
tents were struck, baggage packed, tear stained eyes of grief 
stricken maidens were looked into for the last time; promises 
were made to write every day and twice on Sunday and, amid 
waving of handkerchiefs and a prodigality of pursuing kisses, 
the train pulled out for Niantic and the South. 

Long live Portland ! Long live the landed gentry and 
their wives ! And Portland maidens, live forever ! 

Social life ended with Portland. Camp Alger saw those 
gallant knights of K and F, dirty, unshaven and unwashed. 
Many a sigh was there for Portland, but only the letters of the 
faithful maidens cheered our weary lot. We tried to brush up 
and "do a little society" at Falls Church but it was a feeble 
attempt. Fulton was the only man who was really successful 
and he needed no assistance. So the rest of us lay around and 
watched his masterly conquests and wished we had been born 
handsome instead of intelligent. 

The war is over. Our joys and troubles are a thing of the 
past. But if it is ever our lot to run across a man, woman or 
child from Portland or vicinity, there will be nothing which is 
within the purchasing power of money which we shall not 
make their own. 



I06 INDIVIDUAL. 

THE RIPPIN% ROARIN', ROOKIES — COMPNY K. 

BY CORPORAL EDWARD F. SANDERSON. 

We enlisted in the Spring time for to lick the bloomin' Yap 
What was persecutin' niggers an' defyin' us to scrap. 
We pranced around the howlin' streets to music o' the band 
And the women called us heroes and the men admired our sand. 
The birds was croonin' love songs in the branches over head 
And our mothers' breasts was heavin' and their eyes uncommon 

red 
When we rippin' roarin' rookies left the town. 

We was planted in Niantic for to learn the blasted drill 

And the slashin' sweatin' sergeants gave each " rooky pup" his 

fill. 
Then they shipped us off to Portland 'cause they raised a beastly 

scare 
'Bout Cervera bein' sneakin' up to-only God knows where. 
Our orders was to comfort in a sympathetic way 
The weepin' Portland maidens while their lovers was away 
And we rippin', roarin', rookies never flinched. 

The gen'rous hearted matrons ransacked their larders store 
Till Fulton was the only pup had speech to ask for more. 
The sports around the bloomin' town broached "bots" and even 

kegs 
Till half the men got shockin' tight and lost their bloomin' legs. 
The mothers brought their daughters to see the dress parade 
And lost them in the bustlin' crowd and what a fuss they made 
Till the rippin', roarin,' rookies brought them back. 



INDIVIDUAL. 107 

One night the snorin' Morley got a paster in the neck 
And he swore the perpetrator should become a bloody wreck. 
So he challenged him to fight and he took him to the well 
And what Fitzsimmons gave to Jim, young Morley gave Hurnell. 
He fetched a rattlin' soaker and caught him on the trap, 
And the soldiers cheered like mad for it was a lovely scrap 
Such as rippin', roarin', rookies love to see. 



They took Malloy "the Robber" and held him up for trial 
And the shrieks of boistrous laughter could be heard for mor'n 

a mile. 
The judge he sat upon him and the jury tore his hair 
And the bailiff soaked with water all the places that were bare 
And they fined him just sufftcient to secure a case of beer 
And he skinned for Captain's quarters 'bout as fast as he could 

steer 
And the rippin', roarin', rookies helped him on. 



We was shipped back to Niantic at the Colonel's sharp com- 
mand 
And 'twas there we rippin' rookies got a hot tomali hand. 
We escorted Gen'ral Hawley from the station to the camp 
And there wa'n't abloomin' sound 'cept our steady rattlin' tramp 
And we swung along the line with the shivers up our spine 
And ev'ry blasted beggar praised the marchin' superfine 
Of the rippin', roarin', rookies, Comp'ny K. 

We was sent to old Virginny for to guard a bloody field 
Till the hospitals was filled and half the rookies keeled. 
Our bloomin' anger roused, till our tempers like to burst 
And ev'ry beggar sat around and swore and sweat and curst. 
And we vowed we'd shoot the colonel if we ever saw a scrap 
And we'd plunk the captain too, if he didn't close his trap 
We rippin', roarin', rookies — sizzlin' there. 



io8 



INDIVIDUAL. 



But they shipped us off for home and we've lost our troubles 

now 
And we greet the " Cap " and Colonel with a most pretentious 

bow. 
We swore we'd smash the sergeant and noses we would pull 
But ev'ry man forgot his grudge — when gov'ment "paid in full." 
It would take a team of horses and a windlass and a rope 
To get us in again but we bear no grudge, I hope, 
We rippin', roarin', veterans, Comp'ny K. 



ww m i^': -'^ms m ^n f r mm-^ ^^w^'^m^.w 




-^ .t 















^^'-■•f^-A^f 






Dnscoll. Slifji. SandorsDU. 

sizzlin' "sandy." 



"And ev'ry beggar sat around 
and swore and sweat and curst. 



THE LIFE OF A PRIVATE. 



B^• I'klVATE ROBERT K. \lHEKr, 



At eleven o'clock of the 4th of May, Company K's room 
in the Armory was the scene of much confusion. The eighty- 
two men of the company were hurrying to-and-fro — some tying 
up blanket rolls bulging with extra pairs of trousers and articles 
of comfort supplied by fond friends, some overturning piles of 
rubbish to see, if, per-chance, they could find a fatigue cap 
which would not come over their ears, while here and there 
some of the more stalwart of our number might have been seen 
vainly trying to force a connection between their state trousers 
and their state leggins. 

But what cared we for such trivialities, for were not we go- 
ing " to the front " and were not adventure, hardship, fighting 
and perhaps victory and glory in our van? However, the most 
spare-chested men of us made the buttons of our blouses 
strain their fastenings as we marched up Main Street and as we 
passed our friends yelling "Hooray for K." How we resolved 
to deserve them or die ! 

We reached Niantic and straightway our soldier life began. 
For a day or so life at Camp Haven seemed like old camp week 
but, our money failing and the shackle-like regulations hanging 
heavy, our lives became less roseate quite soon. Soon, too, 
we were pregnant with the idea that straps and chevrons were 
things to be respected. Instead of "How are you Herb?" 
and " Say, Ed." it became " Good-morning Captain " and " If 
you please, lieutenant." 

Drills were frequent and hard, for, as we soon learned, a 
soldier is not made by a change of clothes. To get an idea of 
what a good soldier should be, one must imagine a mass of 



I lO 



INDIVIDUAL. 



matter, intelligent, yet courteously subservient to the every wish 
of another — durable, though exposed to sparsity of food, 
changes of climate, storms, loss of sleep and the omni-present 
disease germ. Whether the soldier be durable or not is sup- 
posed to be determined by the surgeons before he is mustered 
in, but to be made to take orders like an automaton the soldier 
must be drilled. The question was once asked of Demosthenes 
what is the thing most necessary for good oratory? He 




1,1 FE OF A PRIVATE. 
DETAII, OF SAPPERS AND MINP:RS AT PORTLAND. 



answered Action. What next? Action. What next again? 
Action. In this way it might be said that the most necessary 
thing in the making of a good soldier might be said to be drill, 
DRILL, DRILL, and he is a foolish and unhappy soldier who 
does not recognize the fact. 

At seven thirty we had squad drill for an hour; then came 
battalion drill for two hours. Two hours more of drill and 
dress-parade at night finished up the days work unless, per- 



INDIVIDUAL. Ill 

chance, a sink had to be dug or the parade ground policed. 
The recruits were not at first allowed to drill with the old mem- 
bers of the company but were drilled in little squads by a "non- 
com." 

"Take your places in line now men;" "Right dress;" 
" Every head and eye to the left — er r — I mean right ;" " Hold 
your gun straight, Fisher and Root, pull in your stomach ;" 
"Front;" "Heels together, everybody ;" "Hold your head 
up, Rodgers, and Sherman only two fingers to the front of 
your gun;" "Now, right shoulder — Landerman do wait for 
the command ; Case, are you chewing tobacco in the rank? 
Well! you ought to know better ; Throw it away;" "Heads 

straight, everybody ; " "Right shoulder! harms!" "Now 

that's very good only Marvel you duck your head and your 
whole body shakes. Smith ! and you are a little slow. Brown ;" 
"Order — Steady men, wait for the command." " Order — now 
don't move the head — harms;" "Very good. Well, you 
must be careful and not drop the butt of the gun on your 
toes;" " Pick up your hat, Landerman, and swing the gun out 
around the head." 

Thus they pass many a dreary hour until the trumpeter 
sounds the recall when, keeping time to the hep ! hep ! hep ! of 
the sergeant, they go into the street and are dismissed. But 
we were not without that spice of life, variety, for every fifth 
day we " went on guard." How we polished up our brass, 
shined our shoes and oiled our guns hoping thus to be 
appointed colonel's orderly and to escape the inconvenience 
of being out a night's sleep. 

But we cannot all be fortunate and I was placed on post 
No. 17, down by the "loud sounding sea" but hark, for the 
Company A sentinel, next me, has challenged some one. 

" Vel, standt oudt mit der countersind to pe recognized." 

Ha ! ha ! the ubiquitos officer of the guard ! The 
" Dutchy " gets the devil for not knowing how to challenge 
and I think over my " General Orders." But my relief comes 
on before the officer arrives near enough to challenge and, after 



I 12 



INDIVIDUAL. 



" Open Chambers " and " Close Chambers," I take my place 
in the crowded guard tent and am in the sweetest of sleep in a 
second and, though the mattress may be wet and my pillow 
my hat, dream on as pleasantly as I would in the Waldorf 
Astoria. 

Our food which was purchased with an allowance of 
twenty-five cents a day was naturally somewhat plain. The 




MOIs'TE CARLO. 
Driscoll. Ahem. 

R. B. Pierce. McKone. 



Ju(ls(in. 
Sherman. Perry. 



steaks that we got were sometimes evidently " off the horn;" 
and beans and greasy " Sow belly" seemed quite too irequent, 
but how good it tasted just the same. 

The best thing about the life was the " bon camaradie " 
which always prevailed. The college is supposed to be a 
place where good fellowship is most prevalent but there is not 



INDIVIDUAL. 113 

such good fellowship in college as there is in a company. The 
essential for universal good fellowship is universal democracy 
and, although various colleges boast of their democracy, they 
have none which can compare with that in a company. In a 
company of soldiers there is no distinction. A man may be 
rich or poor, be bright or dull, educated or unlearned, he must 
do the same work, wear absolutely the same kind of clothes, 
eat the same kind of food and at night roll up in the same 
kind of blanket. Can conditions be more perfect for absolute 
democrac}'? How soon we got to calling one another "John," 
"Charlie," and "Pop !" What good old poker games we had by 
the light of the candle ! Five cent jack pots went swift for us 
on our "fifteen sixt}-" which went so soon. Was there a man in 
the company who had money and refused to loan it? Will 
anyone ever forget the blanket tossing — that leveler of all 
distinctions. And the singing and the orchestra ! How 
pleasant were those nights in Maine when we all sang " Nellie 
was a Lady," and " Tenting on the old Camp-ground," and even 
yet I seem to hear the voice of one who has since left us 
carrying the air of " Good night my sweet," our closing song. 
Soon taps would sound and then to bed. 

These are a few pages from the life of a private. 



THE CONFESSIONS OF A NON-COM, 



BY CORPORAL RALPH B. PIERCE. 



Just why I should be detailed to police this subject is not 
exactly clear to my mind, but I have acquired the habit of 
obeying orders in my poor, weak way and filling the air with 
large, sea-green cuss words afterwards. 

Some are born non-coms., some get there by their winning 
ways, while others have it rudely thrust upon them without 
regard to their own feelings or the feelings of those whom they 
are supposed to boss around and be nasty to. It may be fun 
to be able to walk around with a chip on one's shoulder, feeling 
perfectly secure in the knowledge that nobody will knock it off, 
but, for my part, I had much rather be a high private in the rear 
rank than to ever have my sleeve decorated with three \"s with 
a cute little square in the corner. 

The first intimation that I was to be made a corporal was 
on the evening of May third when the captain admitted it in a 
shamefaced sort of a way, and, when I tried to show him what 
a foolish thing it was for him to do, he became obstinate and 
would hear of no getting out of it. Then " Bob " Beebe and 
Henry Holt began to call me, " Corporal," and I kept them busy 
dodging old boots and things till they let up. The following 
day " Billy " Case and I bid a tearful farewell to the folks at the 
home and trudged down to the armory, resolved to either bring 
home enough Spanish scalps to make a door mat or to leave 
our own in some far off place. This was the first time " Billy" 
had been in uniform and he put his leggins on so they laced 
up on the inside. I remind him of that occasional!}' when he 
makes sneering remarks about my failings. 



INDIVIDUAL. 115 

There are many things in this hfe to be thankful for, many 
times when you are glad you are living, but the proudest time 
of my life was when we marched from the armory to the station, 
through the throngs of people who witnessed the departure of 
those who responded to their country's call. We may be called 
out a dozen times again but we will never experience just that 
same feeling. 

Well, we arrived at Niantic and then the trouble began. 

I'll never forget the first time I took a squad out to drill. 
It was composed of men who had actually forgotten more 
about military matters than I ever expect to know and they 
were dead on to the fact and executed the orders with a snap 
and vigor that made me wonder just how they did it. x'Yrchie 
Cannon would look sideways at " Chick " Rowland, then they 
would both grin and nudge each other when they thought I 
wasn't looking and expectorate with needless elaborateness. 
When the recall sounded we were the first ones to return to 
the street and from that time on I always had a copy of the 
manual of arms where I could refresh my memory at any 
moment. 

It is an easy matter to make the life of a non-com. miser- 
able. For instance: while in Portland, Fulton and Sanderson 
were in a squad I had on drill one day. This was before 
"Sandy" got his stripes. We went a short distance from the 
camp and, after a cautious reconnoissance, discovered an 
imaginary enemy concealed in the tower of a church about 
half a mile away. Promptly bringing my brave followers to a 
halt, we prepared to dislodge the Spaniard with a tremendous 

volley from empty rifles. "Squad, ready aim fire!" 

and, " Bang! " went the rifle of Fulton, he having slipped in a 
blank cartridge which he had swiped on the glorious day we 
gained the victory at the battle of the Eastern Promenade. It 
was a joke on me, all right, but I expected every moment to 
see the captain come tearing over to see what had happened, 
or to have the top soldier rubbering, so we trotted off down 
the road to get out of the way. Several other squads had 



ii6 



INDIVIDUAL. 



been near enough to witness " Spikes " little joke and they 
commenced to jolly me and ask foolish questions, till, just as 
we came to the dustiest, dirtiest part of the road it occurred to 
me that we were out for the purposes of drill, so I gave them the 
order to fire by squad, lying dozvn. " Sandy" stopped laugh- 
ing so quick I could distinctly hear his thorax click, for he 




'i\\ 







"THE ASCENSION." BV KA(I.)PHAKL. 
RALPH B. PIERCE. 



and Fulton had just had their uniforms pressed and cleaned so 
the}' might look pretty when they paid a party call that 
evening, but they went down in the dirt like little men and 
came to the conclusion that it wasn't always best to monkey 
with a non-com. till after drill, anyway. 



INDIVIDUAL. 117 

The illustration of my ascension shows what they do to 
them between drills and I wish to state right here that it seems 
an awful time coming down. "Bet your sweet," as Barker says 
"Buckskin" would say. I remember one time we put "Cynthia" 
up so high that the colonel sent over and said that he liked to 
see a man rise from the ranks but not feet first. 

When Barker was "dog-robbing" for the captain he was a 
man you wanted to stand in with, 1 tell you, for if you ever 
woke up in the morning with a pink taste in your face all you 
had to do was to mention the fact and Barker would take you 
over and set up the captain's whiskey. I suppose the captain 
was at least a gallon shy by my own individual effort. 

Brigham used to have a whole lot of cigarettes sent him 
and I would call him one side and tell him a funny story 
while " Robbie " Case would go in and pinch enough to last 
us several days. 

Now that we are out of the service we can look back to 
many things which seem funny to us now, but at the time they 
were mighty serious. None of us would want to go through 
the same experience again, yet we would not have missed it 
for anything. We had sufificient cause to kick about poor 
management and the too visible inefficiency of some of the 
officials, yet there are many pleasant things which will always 
remain in our memory. We can congratulate ourselves that 
we had such a man as " Mac " to cook for us ; there wasn't a 
man in the company who was more thoroughly on to his job 
than he, and Scharper was also just the right man in the right 
place. Lots of times when I was feeling blue and grumpy, 
Mac would come over to my tent and we would have the 
nicest little mix-up imaginable. We would both loose con- 
siderable hair and may be skin a few knuckles, but at the 
finish we always felt a great deal better and able to stand a 
little more rubbing in from the top notcher. 

Perhaps it will interest Lieutenant Valentine to know that I 
did e'en swindle him out of a pair of trousers. When we were 
drawing our clothing at Portland my trousers were getting 



Il8 INDIVIDUAL. 

decidedl}' bagg}- at the knees and did not compare favorably 
with those worn by " Nattie " Carroll. In fact they were what 
might be called picturesque. Still, "Old Business" thought I 
wasn't due for a new pair, but I used to do a little society 
stunt myself on the side, so I went over to Corporal Jones of 
Company F and explained the situation to him and he kindly 
loaned me what had once been the nether portion of a C. N. G. 
uniform. I'm glad that only a few of you chaps saw me in 
that rig for I was a sight. You know how his clothes would 
fit me and when " Nat." cast his eagle eye on me he said he 
didn't realize my clothes were in such condition and said I had 
better have some new " panties." If those trouserloons of 
Jones' had held together long enough, half the company would 
have drawn new ones on them. 

Now I think I have made a clean breast of everything 
and my conscience ought not to trouble me any more. We 
were mighty glad to go to the cruel, cruel war and were 
tickled to death to get back. No more getting to bed at taps, 
unless you want to, no more reveilles nor drills and roll-calls 
are things of the past. 

There certainly is a bond of friendship between the men 
in our old company which exists only in organizations of that 
kind. When we started out my circle of friends was very 
small but I fully appreciate that some of my best friends to- 
day are those whom I hardly knew six months ago. I wish I 
could fittingly express my feelings towards the men who have 
so often shown their friendship but all I can say is, "God bless 
you every one." I want to thank my squad for the soldierly 
manner in which they performed their duties; never once did 
I ever have cause to complain. I am proud of " Yank " 
Nunan, the man who saved Walsh's life; "Eddie" Oviatt, 
who had so much to contend with and who had the toughest 
luck of any one in the company; Pattison, old, steady and 
reliable; Potter, bound to kick in any event, but always did 
his duty and did it well ; Schultz, always to be depended 
upon, and Shea, who could raise more deviltry and get out of 
it easier than any man I ever saw. 



INDIVIDUAL. 119 



AN ALGERIAN PASTEL. 



A sergeant sits on the ground with his back against the 
guard tent. He is not happy; he is not pleased. Hear him 
curse. The lantern beside him flickers and grows dim. He 
damns the lantern but the lantern is all right, — day is breaking, 
A red light shoots up above the trees over towards Dunn 
Loring and the sergeant mutters something between his set 
teeth about a hundred and thirty in the shade as the distant 
tents begin to show a faint pink tinge. Tiny columns of smoke 
rising beyond the camp indicate that the cooks are preparing 
the frugal meal of fried chicken, poached eggs and cream puffs 
to tempt the failing appetites of their dainty charges. 

Day is breaking. A corporal yawns and looks at his 
watch ; then he spits on his hands, grasps his rifle and smites 
twenty sleeping men on the bottoms of their feet. Hear them 
grunt. " Second relief, fall in ! " 

A blinking trumpeter ambles across the parade ground, 
buttoning his blouse as he comes. The camp begins to awake. 
Here comes some drummers, then more trumpeters ; a soldier 
emerges from the colonel's tent with a flag. Men shuffle over 
toward the flag-pole with drums and horns and things. 

Tired sentinels with bleary eyes sigh contentedly, thinking 
that their last tour of guard duty is nearly over. 

Day is breaking Corporals go down the company 
streets awakening their squads. Listen: hear Jack McKone 
swear because some one is tickling his feet. What a vocabulary 
he has. 

A captain sticks his head out of his tent and calls for the 
dog-robber to put some cracked ice on his forehead. The 
colonel turns over in bed and dictates another circular letter. 

Day is still breaking. Slippery-top, in a moment of 
abstraction, tries to comb his hair, then disappears behind the 
cook-house with a low, sad wail of anguish. 



f 20 



INDIVIDUAL 



Barrows stubs his toe on a blade of grass and goes to the 
hospital. Men crowd around the first sergeant's tent to 
inquire the bill of dress for roll-call and white gloves and 
knapsacks are hastily donned. The " Red Muzzier" puts 
another hot potato in his mouth. Reveille sounds. 

"Fall in for roll-call!" Day is busted wide open. 



../^ ^ 





CORPORAL PIERCE'S CAMP ALGER SyUAD. 

Converse. Fulton. Fuller. Pierce. 

Judson. Ripley. Webster. W. H. Brown. 



AMONG THE RECRUITS. 

EV PRIVATE EDWARD C. FOWLER. 
J' 

June 1 8, 1898, was a memorable day for twenty young 
fellows who were, on that day, mustered into the United States 
service and sent to Portland, Maine, to help fill the ranks of 
Company K, First Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. In 
column of twos we were marched to the Union depot about 2 
P. M., by Sergeant Bcebe. Before boarding the train we 
received our first ration from Uncle Sam, consisting of ham- 
sandwiches, doughnuts and a large bottle of coffee. The 
journey to Portland was accomplished without an\' very 
excitmg incidents. The only amusing event was the deluging 
of a lady passenger with coffee from one of the bottles in the 
rack overhead springing a leak. Some of us had ne\er had 
any military experience and, as we recall some of the thoughts 
that were in our minds at that time, we see how far the reality 
was from what we imagined it to be. 

We arrived in Portland in the rain, about 10.30 P. M., and 
were met by Lieutenant Valentine and Sergeant DeLamater who 
c]uickly formed us in line and started us away for camp. Soon 
after leaving the ferry we struck the board walks of South 
Portland which were rather narrow for two in the darkness of 
that first night. After what seemed like a long march we 
arrived at the hall which was to be our quarters for several 
days to come. We found no feather beds waiting for us but 
had to content ourselves with the soft side of the benches and 
chairs in the hall. We had no blankets. 

We did not need reveille to wake us up the next morn- 
ing, as three or four hours lying on boards combined with the 
9 



122 



INDIVIDUAL. 



chilly air of the hall, was enough for most of us that first 
night. When taking our bath in the morning at the faucet by 
the camp kitchen, we found the air of Maine was several 
degrees cooler then it was in Connecticut. 

Part of the first morning was spent in looking around 
camp and being initiated by the fun lovers of Companies F and 
K. Among the performances was a roll-call and guard post- 




SOMK OV THE RKCKUITS. 
Sherman. Jos. Burnell. Zoller. Moran. McLaughlm. 



Diiscoll. 



ing at the flag, well and other points of interest around the 
camp. It soon began to rain, however, and taken altogether 
our first Sunday in camp seemed as long as two ordinary days. 
Monday morning opened up bright and clear and we 
found a half hour of calisthenics was to be our first drill. 



INDIVIDUAL. 123 

These setting-up exercises put more aches in our bodies but 
as we found they were good for us physicall}', and helped to 
make us better soldiers, we liked this drill the best of any, tor 
a while. Memories of the awkward motions of some of us on 
these first drills cause us to laugh, even now, as we think of 
them. 

Sergeant DeLamater took us out on our first squad drill. 
Some of the orders were so much alike that we got mixed up 
quite often but there was one order we always remembered, 
" Rest." We never forgot how to execute that movement 
correctly. 

Pleasant memories come back to us of the time when we 
lay around, on the green grass of Maine when on drill, talking 
about the future. One of the topics which came up frequently 
was about our uniforms. " When will we get our uniforms, 
Sergeant?" was one of the questions the sergeants had to 
answer oftenest but their stock of patience was large and our 
questions were always answered cheerfully. 

The spirit of good-natured rivalry with the recruits of 
Compan}' F was prevalent among us. Some times it seemed 
to us as if they were making more progress than we and at 
other times vice versa. 

About ten days after we arrived in camp we received 
orders to go over to the ofificers' quarters and draw mattresses. 
We were not long in getting them filled with straw and placed 
in position ready for use that night. But for the generosity 
of the K boys, who lent us their overcoats at night, and also 
of the ladies of South Portland and vicinity, who sent us one 
comfortable apiece, the " rookies," as we were soon called by 
the rest of the company, would have passed several much 
more disagreeable nights than they did. 

Among the first to move from the hall into the tents were 
Dimock, Driscoll, Gale, Chamberlin and Barker. Each 
" rooky" was initiated on the first night of his arrival in camp, 
some by going up in the blanket and others b}' running the 
gauntlet, etc. 



124 



INDIVIDUAL. 



One of the red letter days in our military experience was 
the cne in which we began to learn the manual of arm?. We 
soon discovered that it was easy to learn the different mo\^e- 
ments but we had to apply the old adage, " Practice makes 
perfect," to the work. We would think we were doing finely 
until Captain Saunders would come and watch us drill, when 
we soon found how far from perfect we were. 

After three weeks of impatient waiting for our uniforms, we 
received orders one day to go over to F^ort Preble and draw 






•■ CHARGK (II-' 


THi: 


LICIIT JiKlCADK. 




Chambt-riin. 


Roberls. 




Beauthamp. 




Denmston. 


Sarvan. 




Rogers. 


Thompson 



them. It was a great da\- for the "rookies" who had felt as 
if they were a little out of place doing guard-duty, etc., with 
citizen's clothes on. We had to look twice at some of them in 
order to recognize them as they came out for the hrst time in 
uniform. Some of the best looking fellows now made more 
mashes than ever among the young ladies who came over to 
our dress parade every night. 



INDIVIDUAL. 



12; 



The first di'ess parade in which the recruits participated 
was on the evening of Jul}' r5th, the night before Companies 
F and K left for Niantic. The success of this first ceremony 
showed the faithful work which had been done by the officers 
and recruits in the past. From this time we felt as if we were 
a part of Company K and shared the honors and discomforts 
of camp life with the rest. 

Our hearts are saddened as we think of Irving Dimock, 
Merlin A. Pierce, Charles D. Gale and Arthur W. Zoller, 
whom sickness and death have called away from us. We 
sometimes wonder why all those of the company who have 
died have been from among the ranks of the recruits, but while 
we cannot understand these things we feel that their lives have 
been given in a good cause and we remember their faithful 
work with pleasure. 




MORK KICCRIITS. 
Landerman. Jos. Morgan. 



Thompson. 



ARMY RATIONS. 

KY PRIVATE ALBERT C. FULTON. 

" Tell me what a man eats and I will tell you what he is " 
says an Oriental sophist. 

" An army moves on its belly," said General Sherman, as 
he marched " from Atlanta to the sea," his hungry soldiers 
foraging right and left, leaving a track fifty miles in width, 
where never a porker, a sheep, nor a chicken could afterwards 
be discovered. 

Whether an epicurean or an ascetic, a man's food is an 
important factor in his life. The dyspeptic is a pessimist, the 
hungry man is a poor listener and a hungry, ill-fed soldier is a 
poor servant to his government. But tiiis sophistry never 
reaches as far as the commissar}- department of the United 
States Army. 

Just at present there is an impression abroad — which is 
justly prevalent — that our soldiers in Cuba were poorly fed. 
This may be true — or partly true — or wholly false. 

Perhaps the commission which President McKinlcy 
appointed to look into these charges will find where the real 
trouble existed. It seems improbable that the commission 
can ascertain whether the food which was fed to the soldiers 
at San Juan, was good or bad, by going to Chicago and in- 
specting the stock yards and riding up and down the elevators 
in the several packing houses, from which our government 
bought the fresh beef which was served to our soldiers in 
Cuba. 

But Company K, First Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, 
did not go to Cuba and they were not served with poor meat. 



INDIVIDUAL. 



127 



consequently we can only speak of army rations from the point 
of view of the soldier who staid in the home camps and ate 
bread fresh from the baker's oven in Washington and partook 
of good meat, or feasted upon the festive clam and lobster 
which inhabited the coast which Company K was commanded 
to guard. 

And, fellow-soldier of Company K, you who fought bravely 
in the Hispania — Americo war, do you recall tho-^e feasts at 




"MAC" AND HIS STRIKERS. 
Scharper, Walsh. .McGraili. 



Portland, Maine, while we were guarding the North Atlantic 
coast and Sawyer's store. — with Springfield rifles and not 
enough ammunition in camp to furnish the first relief of a 
guard of fifteen men, not counting the supernumerary? 
Do you recall those festive occasions when " bread 
money," furnished by an opulent government, bought pies and 
not bread, when our cook, Mac, master of magic as well as of 



128 INDIVIDUAL. 

cookery, evolved a three course dinner and one kind of dessert, 
(his kind) from simple army fare? 

Those were the days when Georgie Thayer marched three 
times past the generous Mac, each time with an empty mess- 
plate extended full-arms length and with a hungry look upon 
his face that would have melted the heart of the meanest army 
cook on the government pay-roll. And, gentle reader, sub- 
servient to this same strong law of self-preservation that sent 
him once, twice, thrice and often four times a meal to the cook, 
for extra rations, this same Georgie Thayer seeks to shift the 
reputation of being the biggest eater in the company to a 
fellow soldier, on whom the cares of this late war rested 
heavih- and who can but illy bear this added weight of 
responsibility. But, with the uncomplaining stoicism of a 
soldier, he accepts the burden, though a reasonable doubt still 
exists in his mind as to the importance of the influence which 
the compiler of this book exerted on the voters at the polls and 
whether the count represented unsolicited and independent 
opinion. 

But to la)' aside personal strife. Would that this con- 
trovers}' could have been decided with the unanimity of 
opinion which elected Johnnie Knox, Barrows and Barker to 
their respective offices. Those were strong tickets and could 
not ha\'e been defeated. But this is far afieM from the 
subject of "Army Rations." 

Army rations are all right for the arm\' ! Judge them 
from the standpoint of the soldier and not from that of the 
civilian. The food which was issued to the volunteer soldiers, 
for instance at Camp Alger where at one time twenty-five 
thousand men were encamped — was of good quality and was 
issued in sufficient quantity. The greatest difficulty was experi- 
enced in the individual companies, because of the inefficienc}- 
of the cooks and the negligence of the compan}' officers in 
allowing the men to be served with poorh' cooked food. 

It has been said by those capable of judging, that the 
regular arm^' officers attended to this matter in the efficient 



INDIVIDUAL. 



129 



manner which its importance demanded, while the tendency 
of the volunteer officers was to minimize this phase of company 
life and interest himself in the appearance of the company on 
the drill and at dress parade. 

This of course would be as fatal to the welfare of the 
company as would the policy of a house-wife be disastrous to 
the happiness of her home, who busied herself with the 




w^ 



f'jlt^'^^- 






# 



:wB-i 



KITCHEN .\ND CANTEEX AT CAMP ALG3R. 



appearance of the parlor and allowed her famil}' to eat cold 
breakfasts and poor dinners. 

Fortunate indeed w^as the company who enlisted a good 
coo!-:. This should have been an object of the utmost impor- 
tance to the recruiting officers. 

Much of the discontent and trouble caused in a company- 
was not due to the unpopularit}' of a first sergeant or the 
severity of the officers, but was directly attributable to the 
cook, who either spoiled the rations in preparing them or who 



130 INDIVIDUAL. 

was too lazy to accomplish for the men what could be done by 
reason of his position, the men suffering accordingly. 

From what observations the writer was able to make 
there should be some better system devised, or the present 
system better enforced, for the feeding of the sick and the 
prisoners. The army food does very well for the healthy soldier 
whose appetite gives his plain dinner a relish which the ci\ilian 
rarely knows, but it is not adapted to those who are ill or for 
those who are recovering from illness. Also the prisoner, 
that unruly member of the command who is confined to the 
guard house, finds his punishment sufficient without being 
tortured daily by the thought that possibly he may miss a 
meal or two because no one from his company feels inclined 
to bring him anything from the kitchen. 

It should be the duty of someone to see that he is properly 
fed. Even with this added comfort the guard house will never 
be so attractive that men will seek to be put under arrest. The 
fact that the people have become intensely interested in the 
question of " how the soldiers were fed" — intimates that the 
subject will be investigated. While no charges came from the 
home corps relative to issuing of impure food to soldiers, }'et 
such charges have been made against those who were 
responsible for the feeding of the United States soldiers in 
Cuba. 

Ma\^ just punishment be meted out to those who are 
guilty, if such charges are substantiated, and may the punish- 
ment of those who are guilty be severe enough to be re- 
membered until the next war, that it may deter any future 
commissary officers from similar conduct. 

No soldier in any standing army of any nation today is 
better clothed or so well paid as the soldiers in the army of 
the United States. And may it be known to the world at 
large, because of its truth, that the nation loves too well its 
soldiers to ever allow them to be illy fed. 



CARE OF THE SICK. 



BY PRIVATE EDMUND 1'. NUNAN. 
J- 

Within a week after we camped at Niantic a few of the 
boys were over at the camp hospital, ill with petty troubles such 
as would naturally come with so great a change in food, man- 
ner of living, etc. It was a change to every one of us. Some 
were laid up merely from some trifling accident. Not that it was 
necessary they should be there, but as they could get a better, 
quieter place to lay down, they went. The hospital was the one 
used by the state militia at the yearly encampment and was the 
first one used by our regiment. Most of the boys that went 
had the same trouble I had. (stomach trouble), and. from my 
short stay there, I learned how some things were done. 

Major Rockwell was in charge, assisted by Doctors McCook 
and Griswold. Six male nurses were in attendance, ever ready 
and willing to do what they could. None of these had any ex- 
perience except what they had acquired as clerks in drug stores, 
but doctors or nurses alike had no chance at this hospital to 
put into practice their skill, as all the cases were very simple 
ones. Each patient had a small iron cot furnished with a 
mattress, a pillow and a pair of army blankets. We could get 
milk or beef tea at almost any time, by asking the nurses for it, 
but if we wanted any solid food we had to get it from our 
company mess. Willing hands were always ready to bring us 
this and supply us with anything else that could be expected. 
So, on the whole, we were as well taken care of at Xiantic as 
any soldier could expect to be, the little fault finding that was 
done coming from those that would not have been treated any 
better at home. There was no kick from the " tin soldier." 



132 IN'DIVIDUAL. 

Private Morley was the first of our company to go to the 
hospital and was there a good deal of the time while at 
Niantic. yet he never found fault. 

While at Portland we had a large round tent for a 
hospital with four comfortable cots, where any one that did not 
feel just right could go and lay off for a day or two. There, 
we could get quinine, salts, or plasters and a few other simple 
remedies ; but there was no doctor with us at the camp and 
the few bo}'s that were sick enough to need the care of one, 
went over to the hospital at Fort Preble. When they were 
well enough to come back to camp, they could stay in their 
" quarters" or at the hospital until they were well and strong 
enough for duty. 

But the best hospital we had at Portland was at the 
pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. Barbour. They wanted any 
one that was sick to come to their home, and those that did go 
there were well cared for and made very welcome. Private 
Barrows was convalescing there most of the time and he will 
never forget their kindness, nor the pleasant hours he spent 
there, while others performed his duties at camp. 

Not until we had been at Camp Alger for about two 
weeks did we know the real need of a good camp hospital, but 
before we shook the Virginia mud off our feet we knew the real 
intrinsic value of such a place much better than ever before. 
There, the regimental hospital was quite near our street and 
consisted of two large square tents for the patients and two 
small tents for the dyspensar\% etc. P'loors were not used in 
any of these tents and it was better without them except when 
there was a very heavy rain. We had the same doctors and 
nurses as at Niantic, except the last few weeks, when Dr. 
Griswold was sent awa}' to Major General Graham's head- 
quarters where he was of more use. This left Major Rockwell 
and Lieutenant McCook to look after the whole regiment. 
The number of sick began to increase and each of the fever 
patients needed more attention than ever. At times the 
hospital was filled and some of the sick men had to get along 



INDIVIDUAL. 



'33 



as best tbey could in their own tents, where Lieutenant 
McCook would run in to see them whenever he had 
a chance. In the hospital were a number of iron cots, as at 
Niantic, but a few canvas cots were used which were little less 
than implements of torture. They were hard to turn in and 
the patient was in a hollow all the time and less than a foot 
from the ground. These, I think, should have been excluded 
from the hospitals. 




j)i\ihi()N hdmmiai,, camp ai.c,I';r, vircim 



The nurses had a good deal to do and most of them tried 
hard to do their duty, well and faithfull)'. I am quite sure 
that the sick soldiers were quite content with what was done 
for them and only a few " babies " longed to be at 
home with " ma-m-a." The hospital was not well supplied 
with anything in the line of improved, modern conveniences 
and some actual necessities were missing which should not 
have been the case. But a soldier does not expect to have 
everything handy when he goes to "war." We were, however, 
almost under the shadow of the White House and yet did not 



134 INDIVIDUAL. 

have them. But, as all enlisted men know, it was a case of 
" What he did for his country and what his country did for 
him," this trip. 

All the men that had typhoid fever were sent as soon as 
possible to the division hospital, which was over near the 
Virginia regiment. About the first of August there were over 
three hundred typhoid patients there from the New York, New 
Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut regiments. 

It was at this time that the hospital was so crowded and 
the nurses so worn out, that a volunteer nurse was called for 
in each company of our regiment for one night to help the 
few men of the hospital corps to care and do for the sick as 
best they could. Each volunteer was ordered to report to 
Major Hickey and when we were all together and accounted for 
we marched to the regimental hospital where Lieutenant 
McCook explained the nature of the typhoid germ, what to do 
to guard as much as possible against it, and followed with a 
little general advice on the treatment of the disease. When 
this was over we marched over to the division hospital. 

All were to get to work at once but, as in everything else, 
we had to wait for some one to report to some one else, who, 
in turn had to see Dr. so and so as to arrangements etc. and so 
for a while we had to wait. At last, however, we were placed 
and from one to three men left in each ward. It was then that 
we started in on a long and dreary night's work, after drilling 
all day. Two men besides myself were left at ward No. 4, which 
at that time was filled with very sick men. These two men 
were to take special care of two poor fellows that were not 
expected to live through the night. 

It was about eight o'clock when I entered the ward and 
the night head nurse had just started giving the medicine. 
As I reported to him for duty he seemed very pleased and 
thankful to have any one to help him. He was alone and had 
a great deal to do and any little help I could give him would 
be a help most sadly needed. He at once started me giving 
the medicine, while he made it ready for me to give. All 



INDIVIDUAT.. 135 

medicines were in tablet form, except the brandy, which each 
man drank from the cup that some one else had just used. 
There were only two cups in the whole ward that night and no 
way at all handy for washing or wiping those two. 

We had a great deal to do besides giving medicine and it 
was near half-past ten before we were through When he had 
medicine ready for any one, the head nurse would say — "This 
is for 'Jones,' I think he is near the end." And in such a 
way he would locate the man as near as possible. Then I 
would go where I was told and ask any one that was awake if 
he was "Jones" or if he knew which man was "Jones" and 
several times I had to awaken two or three men to find the 
right one. This was very unpleasant for me to do. as I knew 
it might be hours before they went to sleep again, but these 
were my orders — " wake 'em up, and make them take it," and 
so I did. But I was more than glad when the last pill was 
given and I could let them sleep if they would. One candle 
was burning at the head nurse's desk and I carried one in a little 
box to shield it from the wind, but at times and just when I 
did not want it to do so, as a little gust of wind would strike it 
just right, out it went. At two o'clock in the morning our last 
candle was used up and the nurse had to go to the next ward 
to get enough to last until daylight ; they could spare only a 
half of one and this was just enough to get along with. 

There was but one towel in the ward that night, which was 
intended for us to wipe our hands on, but before I was there 
an hour it was soaked in cold water and put on the head of a 
poor fellow, and we had to use our handkerchiefs for towels. 
About five o'clock I went to the supply tent and asked, then 
begged, for one towel, but could not get it. The answer was, 
" I would like to, my dear boy, but I cannot and will not give 
you anything without an order from Dr. Butler." There was 
none in the ward when I left it. 

The cots that the men lay on were very good indeed, but 
few if any had sheets or pillows and most of the men had only 
the blankets that were around them when they were brought 



136 INDIVIDUAL. 

in. The uniforms, rolled up, answered for a pillow with some, 
that night, at least. 

In the morning when Dr. Butler came to the ward I saw 
he meant business that day and that there was to be a change 
for the better. His orders were clear and decided and he 
suited his actions to his words, helping here and there, and be- 
fore I left, at about eight o'clock, most everything was in ship- 
shape order. From that hour I am sure the place was much 
improved in every way and when I went over to take care of 
"Judge" and be a regular nurse, a week later, I found that the 
men were about as well treated and looked after as they would 
have been anywhere. 

Twenty-one Sisters of Charity had then arrived from Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts, and were in charge during the day, two in 
each ward. They would come at seven A. M., and leave at seven 
P. M., going to dinner at twelve o'clock M,, and returning at one 
P. M., as regular as if they had to " ring up " their time. Com- 
ing and going to their boarding house they went in ambulances. 
They were all trained nurses from the Kearney Hospital. They 
were kind and gentle and did all they could to save and relieve 
as much as possible from his suffering, the poor soldier who was 
destined to do his little part of the " Yanks Spanko " war, on 
a hard, hot, narrow cot. 

At this time each man had a good cot, a pillow, two 
sheets, a blanket, night shirt, handkerchiefs, a blanket or two 
to lay on, and there were plenty of towels, sponges, basins, 
cups, etc., and each man received his medicine regularly and 
without any trouble, and also his food, if we could get it from 
the diet kitchen. 

When the Sisters arrived in the morning, they went to 
work with a will and soon had each man ready for a little 
breakfast of beef-tea, malted milk, rice, or they took the 
temperature, gave the medicine, washed the dishes, etc., while 
we scrubbed the floors, gave each man a soap and water 
bath, changed his clothing and made him as comfortable as 
possible. 



INDIVIDUAL. 137 

There they lay, those hot days in July and August, some- 
times asking for ice, when there was no ice to give them, some- 
times for a little cold water. At times there was no cold water 
to give, as we had no way to make it cold. One very hot day, 
when this was the case and they were all the time asking "just 
a little ice," I felt as if it were another case of " Give me three 
grains of corn, mother." At five P. M., however, when the ice 
at last arrived, each man had all he wanted of it. 

The Sisters kept the wards and everything in them very 
clean and no work was too hard or dirty for them to do, if 
they saw others were not willing to do it. In this way as well 
as others they did a great deal of good and saved at least a 
few lives. They did not partake of any refreshments whatever 
at the hospital during those hot, tiresome days the} were 
there, but worked hard and faithfully and for what? For the 
love of God. I am sure they deserve it, and this little tribute 
given here. 

Major Rockwell and Chaplain Kelsey came over once or 
twice a day to look after the Connecticut men and their word 
was law, and their advice was respected by every one. Our 
good chaplain left a standing order with one of the sutlers for 
all the ice cream that would be wanted by the men under his 
care at the hospital. This is what I have to say of Chaplain 
Kelsey, his face, manner, encouragement and his advice as well 
as his cream was always welcome, pleasing and good for all. 
Major Rockwell knew his business better than any other M. D. 
in the place and often I have heard the other doctors say, 
" I guess I'll have to ask Major Rockwell about that." 

One da}' about ten A. M. ambulances came and took all 
the Pennsylvania boys to the depot at Dunn Loring, where they 
were put aboard a special car and sent to a hospital at Phila- 
delphia. Soon after, the}' came again and took all the New 
York boys, who were sent to a hospital at Buffalo, and then 
a few others were taken over to Fort Meyer near Washington. 
This left only Virginia and Connecticut men. The}' were all 
put in ward No. 2. In the meantime, ward after ward, tent 
10 



1^.8 



INDIVIDUAL. 



after tent, was taken down, rolled up, and sent away, until at last 
all that was left standing of that white city of sickness was the 
officers' tents, ward No. 2, the kitchen tents, and the dispensary. 

Finally came the long looked for day for the sick men 
from Connecticut, the day when they were to start for home. 
So, one morning about five o'clock four or five ambulances 
and a detail of men from our own regiment came and took all 
but one Connecticut man over to the station. This man was 
too sick to be moved. Two others had to be carried on 
stretchers, all the way to the car, as they were not strong 
enough to ride with the others. They were very tired by the 
time they were rolled into bed in the sleeping car that was to 
bring them all back to the place they started from on May 4th, 
then well, happy and full of hope. What a change there was 
in that carload of men. If they had been well enough to stay 
and go back to Niantic with the rest of us, however, they would 
have been compelled to do as we did before we could get 
home to our beloved ones — pay eighty-five cents for transpor- 
tation from Niantic, or walk home. 

The hospital at Niantic, after our return from Camp Alger, 
was nothing but a hell on earth and every one that was in 
those tents for twenty-four hours should, by all that is just and 
right, receive a pension for life But I have said enough. 




l'KI\ATl. (AIATT. 
FHOM THE UOSl'lTAL TO THE TKAIN. 



INDIVIDUAL. 139 

RELIEF COMMITTEE. 

J- 

Soon after the departure of the regiment, members of 
Company K, C. N. G. met and appointed a committee, consist- 
ing of Sergeant George S. Batterson, chairman, Corporal 
Herbert S. King and Private Charles E. Meyers, treasurer, to 
provide the war company occasionally with such delicacies and 
provisions as were not included in the regular army rations. 
This was done and the war company fully appreciated the 
motives which called forth such acts of kindness. In the fall, 
when the sick began to be sent home, the labors of the 
committee were at once largely increased. The committee 
thereupon collected some $300 which was generously contri- 
buted by the members, ex-members, veterans and honorary 
members of the company. The committee and other members 
of the company met the invalids at the Union Station on the 
arrival of the trains from Camp Alger and later visited them at 
their homes, in Hartford, New Haven and elsewhere. In many 
ways the committee thus relieved the heavy burdens which 
those who fell sick with the fever were compelled to bear. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 

Bv Private George B. Thayer. 



COMPANY K, FIRST REGIMENT, CONNECTICUT 
NATIONAL GUARD. 
Orders No. 4. Hartford, May 2, 1898. 

I. In compliance with G. O. No. 7, R. H.. May 2, 1898, 
the members of this command who are to serve for two years 
(nnlcss sooner discharged) in the war with Spain are hereby 
ordered to assemble at the Armory at 12.15 p. m., on Wednes- 
day, May 4, 1898. 

II. Members will report in fatigue uniform, with haver- 
sacks and knapsacks equipped for heavy marching order. 
Those not provided with knapsacks will be directed as to 
equipment. 

III. Each man will provide himself with one pair heavy 
wide sole black shoes, two flannel shirts (blue preferred), two 
sets heavy underclothing, two abdominal woolen bands, socks, 
white silk and linen handkerchiefs, towels, soap, and sponge, 
toilet articles, including fine tooth comb, shaving outfit, black- 
ing-brush, and blacking, needles, thread, etc., one pair of 
rubbers, and extra shoe laces. A pair of thin trousers and a 
vest will also be provided. /Ml articles not worn will be 
packetl in knapsack, or, in case of members not provided with 
knapsack, will be stowed inside of blanket roll, as directed. 

IV. The commandant is confident that the same spirit 
which has animated the members of Company K in times of 
peace will be with them in this more serious undertaking, and 
that the high reputation which the command has borne for 
intelligent and faithful performance of dut)- will be maintained. 

II. 11. SAUNDERS, Captain. 



CHRONOLOC.ICAL. I4I 

Wednesday, May 4. In obedience to the foregoing 
order the members of Compan\' K assembled at the Elm 
Street armory promptly at 12.15 o'clock. For several hours 
previous friends of the First Regiment had been gathering in 
and about the armory till the street in front and the hallway and 
floors within were crowded with people, all anxious to do what 
they could for the comfort of those of us who were to leave. 

For weeks and weeks I had been looking forward to this 
day — the opportunity of a life time. At night, in anticipation, 
I had not only lived the day over and over again but my 
imagination had reached out into the future and often, before 
dropping off to sleep, 1 found myself fighting hand to hand 
conflicts with Spaniards, receiving and giving savage bayonet 
thrusts and finally clubbing my gun with deadly effect. And 
during all these weeks of anticipation I looked forward to the 
hour when I should, for the first time, be under fire, with a 
feeling much more of curiosity than of dread. I really was 
curious to find out if I was, in fact, a coward. So far, during 
my life, I had never yet struck a person in anger and I won- 
dered if there really was devil enough in me to kill a man. 
The time was close at hand, now, when I should have an 
opportunity to test myself, to find myself out and I look for- 
ward to that event mucli as }'ou would to meeting a friend 
about whom you had heard much but never seen face to face. 
Only once during these weeks did I wince at the outlook. 
One night The Times had an article on the front page con- 
spicuously headed " The penetrating power of Spanish bullets. 
Colonel Burdett receives important imformation in regard to 
them." When my eye struck that article, for a moment I 
shivered and dodged and refused to read further but soon 
coming to myself I went back and read the article through and 
through. 

The time had now come — I was going to war. I went up 
to my room in The Linden, took a last look at all my books 
and things, wondered if I should ever see them again, locked 
the door and left the building. Let the following letter written 
home tell the stor\' of the da)*: 



142 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



M)- Dear I^lorine : — 

" First of all, I want to thank you for makinf^ it so easy 
for me to go. Vou didn't raise a single objection so far as I 
remember and incidentally I have heard, from several sources, 
things you have said to others, which makes me think possibly 
you felt rather proud than otherwise that I was going. At least 
I imagined so. 

I was glad, after all, that )'ou went to New York and we 
did'nt have to say ' Good-bye.' It would have broken me all 




"heads uh." 
company k coming up elm street, hartl-ord, 

Wl'tDNESDAV, MAY 4, 1898. 

up and possibly 3'ou would not have been able to keep the stiff 
upper lip you did. 

Mrs. S. at first didn't think much of my enlisting, said she 
didn't think I was such a big fool, but when I went down to her 
to say ' Good-bye,' she finall\' threw her arms around my neck, 
kissed me ajiain and again and said she would be a mother to 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 1 43 

me if she could. She wanted to send me a box of things to 
eat, right away, etc., etc. That was the first time I weakened 
about the eyes. 

Then I asked Mrs. M. to do some little sewing for me and 
she was so willing, and the chef was so good getting me an 
early luncheon, and Jack, the elevator boy, was so anxious to 
do something by acting as waiter for me, and Mr. Ackley, (the 
manager of The Linden), was so thoughtful as to com»e down to 
the armory at the last minute to see if there wasn't something 
he too could do for me — well, all I can say. The Linden was 
awfully good to me, from Mr. Ackley down to the pastry cook 
and elevator boy and that just melted me. O, I tell you, 
Florine, people are not so selfish, after all. Those that had to 
stay at home had the hardest part of it. It was much easier 
to go than to stay and have no chance to do anything. When 
you get a good chance, let Mrs. M. know that what she did, in 
sewing my name upon my uniform and in fixing a silk hand- 
kerchief about the neck of my thick sweater, was all that even 
mother, if she were alive, could do for me. Do you suppose 
mother would have made it so easy for me to go as you did? 

But I got down to the armory finally and when we started 
up Elm Street the opportunity of a life time came to pass. 
Old customers from Vernon were in to see me off and the 
march up Main Street you must imagine. It cannot be 
described from the point of view of those of us in the ranks. 
Everywhere it was cheers and tears and good-byes. One of 
the librarians at the public library writes me he tried to catch 
my eye but could not, so he kept yelling to keep from crying. 
I didn't see Will either, if he was there. 

An old charity fraud, whom I once exposed, saw me and 
cheered me on by yelling, " Damn you, I hope you will get 
shot." A gang of frequenters of the City Hotel also took this 
occasion to hiss Company K, as we passed there. Aside from 
these little things, the contrast was great — all and more than 
we expected. 

But every one of us agree that the view down into Union 
Place as we ascended to the railroad platfrom was the prettiest 



144 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

of all the pretty sights that day. A mass of human beings, 
composed largely of women, decked out in their prettiest, 
giving us one last farewell. The prett\- colors of the hats 
massed in groups or singly, made the whole square one human 
flower garden, alive with faces. That was a fitting sight to 
leave with us. 

O, I could write a book about the going. But I must tell 
}'ou a little something this time, of the novelty of this camp 
over any other. Heretofore we have eaten in mess-houses, 
with seats, plates, course dinners, waiters, etc., just as we would 
at home, practically. 

This time we got into camp just before dark. In a short 
time, a long row of camp fires were going and when it had 
grown quite dark, the company lined up in the company street 
and marched over to our camp fire. In single file each one 
passed by the fire, getting a piece of fried ham and fried 
potatoes on one tin plate, a piece of bread on the cover and a 
cup of hot coffee. Each man found a seat on the ground 
somewhere or on a log of wood and with knife and fork drawn 
from the haversack thrown over his shoulder, began to eat. 
Of course, the cup of coffee had to be placed on the ground 
while the ham was held in the lap and cut up. Thus were 
one thousand men served the first night in camp. It was a 
novel sight, — the long row of camp fires (one for each com- 
pan)') with one thousand men crouched about in the dark on 
the ground. Each man washes his own dishes by going over to a 
kettle of hot water and swashing his dishes about in it. After 
eighty-four men have thus swashed around, the water you can 
imagine gets somewhat greas}'. Then the dishes are put back- 
in the haversack which we take back and hang up in the tent. 
Now, we have benches put up about the fire to eat at. When 
it rains — as it has every day so far — we stick our heads 
through a slit in the center of our rubber blankets and that 
keeps the rain off of us but not off the food. Light tents have 
been up over the fire places so the rain will not put the fire 
out but this (Sunday) morning the wind blew the tents into 
the air, piled the benches into heaps, so that we had to go into 
the mess houses to eat breakfast. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 145 

But I must stop, for now. Each mau of us is worrying 
about the possibihty of faihng to pass the physical examination 
this week. I am below the standard 5 ft. 4 in. and cannot bear 
the thought of failing in that when I am so tough otherwise. 
Captain Saunders has asked me to keep the company diary — 
the doings of the company for each day. 

The men already are beginning to have boxes come, with 
fruits, cakes, etc. I don't need anything in that line, for the 
food is all right. But still, if you feel that you must, you could 
make it pleasant for me to return some of the favors the men 
are showing me already. Enough for this time. When it gets 
warmer you and Will must come down. I sleep as warm as 
toast." 

Little else needs to be added. Our section of the train left 
the Union Station at 2.20 to the music of a Gatling gun salute 
and ever)-where along the line of the Valley road, were crowds 
gathered to see us off. At Colt's factory a salute was fired, 
another at Rocky Hill and at Cromwell, two old men 
(veterans, perhaps) came out with old shot guns to get us 
accustomed to the music of the musket. The Keating Bicycle 
factory whistle at Middletown and the Essex Drum Corps 
stirred the country with their noises and everywhere ihe school 
children made the most of the occasion. It was, in fact, a 
great send otit". 

We got into camp at 5.15 and K was the first company in 
the regiment to get supper. The permanent kitchen detail 
was: Private McGrath, cook; assistant. Private Tinkham ; 
detail, Sergeant Beebe, Privates Cannon, Rowland, McKone 
and Hollis. Guard mount at 9 p. m. with Privates HoUis, 
Johnson, Bassett, Wheelock and Webster as detail for guard 
and Private Sobieralski on the battery. Lieutenant Valentine 
was officer of the guard. 

Thursday, May 5. We had, for breakfast, beef steak, 
potatoes, bread and coffee; for dinner, soup (it was great) 
bread and coffee and for supper, baked beans. At guard 
mount at 9 o'clock Private McKone was " touched " for 
colonel's orderly. Company drill was from 9.30 to 11.30 



146 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

a. m. At 5 p. m. the Yale light battery arrived, marching by 
our street and taking up a position on the extreme left of the 
camp grounds. The appearance of this fine set of fellows, 
coming into camp and making the same offer we did yester- 
day, begins to give me a broader and deeper idea of what this 
all means. With the exception of a feu- drops of rain at break- 
fast, the weather was fair all day. 

Friday, May 6. Fried blue fish for breakfast ! How's 
that I Today the weather was fine and I went in swimming 
over by the sea coast battery. One of the funniest perform- 
ances I ever saw was the Gatling gun drill by Privates Calverly 
and Sheedy of Company H late this afternoon. With a wheel- 
barrow for a gun and a man at each handle, they rushed about 
the parade grounds, charging the enemy from various points 
of attack. When the command was given to dismantle the 
gun, they would sudclcnl)- turn the wheelbarrow bottom up, 
throw themselves flat upon their bellies and with faces close to 
the ground and hands upon the wheel, they made it revolve 
with lightning rapidity. Calverly is very fat about the waist 
and soon was very red about the face and the fact that both men 
had a slight " edge on " did not lesson the ludicrousness of 
the whole proceedings. 

The Night Guards met at the bath house tonight and 
effected an organization with Private W. C. Johnson as Officer 
of the Night and Private McKone as adjutant. After taps they 
passed in review at the bath house, posted the guard, held a 
court-martial and selected candidates for initiation and blanket 
tossing. 

S.vruRDAV, May 7. At breakfast this morning we ate out 
in the rain. Rubber blankets were soon issued to us, however, 
and this saved us a wetting. Shoes, shirts, drawers and stock- 
ings were also issued to us during the forenoon. I had to take 
stockings two sizes too big and shoos live sizes too large but I 
think I can send the shoes back to Marcy Brothers and get a 
smaller size made. Captain Saunders acted as adjutant of the 
second battalion to-day. To-night, for the first lime 1 think, 
in the history of the C. N. G., the band pla\-ed "The Star 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 147 

Spangled Banner" at retreat and every head was uncovered. 
It seemed queer, at first, to see men back of the mess houses, 
out of sight of the flag and almost out of hearing of the music, 
take their hats off and stand or go along bare-headed. But 
that dear old flag means more to us than it did a few days ago. 
" Mac " made us a meat pie to-night that was equal to any the 
chef at The Linden ever made. 

Sunday, May 8. Heavy rain and high wind. Mess tent 
blown down. Hail and cold rain all day. Camp flooded. Big 
pond of water near kitchen. Breakfast and dinner in the mess 
house. Cooking done in the mess kitchen. Captain Saunders 
was officer of the day to-day. This afternoon he called a 
number of us into the mess house out of the rain and put us 
through the manual, for the purpose of selecting six corporals 
from the number. In turn, some of us put. the captain through. 
Private Bassett called the captain down, in fine shape. "You're 
a little slow, there, captain" he said and then we all laughed. 
Later in the afternoon the captain announced the following 
promotions: Privates Cannon, Bassett, Ward, W. C. Johnson, 
Marion and Gruener to be corporals. Captain Saunders 
promised, when I re-enlisted for this, that he would allow me to 
remain a private if I meant what I said. I told him I did, but 
I was afraid this afternoon, when he called on me, to go 
through the manual, he had forgotten his promise. 

Monday, May 9. This is wash day and many of the men 
made their first attempt at washing their own clothes. It was a 
cold night but the sun came out fine at six o'clock this morning. 
It soon went into clouds however. Sergeant Holt and Privates 
Low, P^ulton and Sanderson were detailed to go over to New 
London to hunt up men away frorr camp without leave. At 
guard mount I was selected as post orderly. 

Tuesday, May 10. Ice formed last night in the basins. 
Private Eno was chosen as post orderly this morning. At 
10.30 this morning the company was ordered over to the 
surgeon's quarter for the purpose of passing the physical 
examination. Only two men. Privates Ripley and Guidot, out 
of the entire company, failed to pass and later, u[)on a re-cx- 



148 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

amination, Private Ripley was accepted. How I succeeded in 
getting through, see m\' next letter home. 

Colt's Band gave a concert in honor of Battery A (Yale 
Boys) at their mess house to-night which was largely 
attended b}- the officers and men of the regiment. How 
relieved the men all feel, now that the\' have passed the 
physical examination. 

Wednesday, May ii. To-day was clear and mild. At 
compan\- drill the order "Form for attack" was given and 
fairly well executed. We also had the setting up exercises for 
the first time. Private Knox has been detailed as quarter- 
master's clerk. To-night Privates Bassett, Eno, R. A. Case 
and m}\self with Corporal D\v)'er and Sergeant Moseley went 
over to Farmer Saunders and had all the o}'sters out of the 
shell we could eat, for ten cents. 

Thursday, May 12. Private Fulton was post orderly 
to-day. The boxes from home are beginning to come, to such 
an extent that some of the men have given the kitchen the 
cold shoulder and, as the result, have eaten themselves sick 
with the good things sent from home. My box came today 
but I am bound to stick by "Mac," he makes everything taste 
so good Private W. O. Case took some fine shots of blanket 
tossing to-day. The " Thirteen Club " had a fried oyster 
supper at Saunders to-night. There were present : Lieuten- 
ant Keeney, Sergeants Moseley and Hines, Corporals Silvernail 
and Pierce, Privates W. O. Case, Cadwell, Eno, Pierce (Drum 
Major) Johnson, Pattison, Appleton and m\-self. A fine 
spread for twenty cents ! 

Frhwy, May 13. Lieutenant Waterman was officer of 
the guard last night. He reported a fine display of shooting 
stars during the night. It's funny what queer things some 
folks see or think they see when no one else is around. 
Private Ahern was colonel's orderly to-day. Governor Lorrin 
A. Cooke, Colonel W. B. McCray and other memhcrs of the 
governor's stafT visited the camp to-day and were received with 
the usual salute from the battery. This afternoon, during the 
regiment drill, the order " Form for attack " was given and. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 149 

during the execution of "Advance by Rushes" across the 
field, the charge was so rapid and such a hot pace was set that 
one or two men fell from the ranks and were carried from the 
field on stretchers. Corporal " Cy " Wheeler gave a " tat-tee " 
to-night at his tent but taps stopped the performance before its 
close. The boys began to have some fun with the tent of 
Privates Marvel and Morley to-night. Forty-five years old 
to-day. 

Saturday, May 14. At company drill this morning a 
camp photographer took us during the setting up exercises 
and some one suggested the novel scheme of forming the 
company, single file, in a circle and at a given signal each man 
sat down upon the knees of the man behind him. In that way 
the whole company rested and could have continued in that 
easy position indefinitely. Private Morley has been dubbed 
" Sleeping Jesus " but there was little sleep for him to-night. 
Among other things that happened Morley's tent came down 
in a heap. Sergeant Beebe strongly objected to such treatment 
of Private Morley but every one, excepting those on the inside 
— the inside of the tent — strongly suspected " Bob " himself 
had something to do with the sudden collapse of the tent. 
Company K, " Home Guards," began to arrive in camp to- 
night and so, in order to get some sleep, I induced the mem- 
bers of the hospital corps to let me in to the hospital tent. 
Captain Saunders acted as major of the second battalion at 
review to-night. 

Sunday, May 15. Inspection of uniforms, arms and 
tents this morning at 8. Religious services at the pagoda at 
10.30. Crowds of visitors. Clam chowder and rice pudding 
for dinner. At 2 o'clock another cold rain, similar to the 
storm last Sunday, set in and soon flooded the camp again. 
Our tent is like a sieve and everything in it had to be covered 
with our rubber blankets to keep them from getting soaked. 
The tent of privates Cadwell, Hall, Ward, Pimm and Knox had 
recently been equipped with a commodious cellar, into which 
they had stored their laundry, shaving apparatus, etc. When they 
returned to their tent after supper, the cellar was found flooded 



CHRONOLOGICAL. I5I 

to the brim and shirts, stockings, shaving apparatus, hair 
brushes, etc. were floating about promiscuously. " Mac " gave 
us an orange short cake for supper to-night. We had to seek 
shelter in the mess house to eat it and how he managed to 
cook it out in this rain seems a mystery. Possibly the cold 
rain to-day may have had something to do with the tone of the 
letters I wrote home to-day. Here they are, however just as 
they were written : 

" My Dear Florine : — 

I have just had to tear myself away from headquarters 
where Will is, telling stories and making every one laugh, in 
order to get time to write you. I am so busy every minute all 
the week that Sundays must hereafter be reserved for letter 
writing. The box came all right and of course broke me all 
up. It don't take but mighty little to make me cry, these days. 
Last Sunday, in the Y. M. C. A. tent, I cried like a baby writing 
you and with every one around likely to see me. To-day I 
have gone over by the Sea Coast battery, all alone, but it is 
just the same. I can't talk or think of where I am, with all 
that "In Camp" means, this time, without filling up as if I 
should burst. It is not that I look forward to a thing that is 
unpleasant or is to be dreaded. On the contrary, when I think 
that I have been permitted even to take the most humble part 
in the great events that are transpiring and am in a position, 
710W, to-day, to do whatever is required of me, I feel so grateful, 
so thankful, that I can hardly hold myself. Usually, whenever 
a person's nerves are unstrung, the symptoms are just those 
that I now exhibit, but the truth is, my nerves were never 
stronger. In loading and firing, as we do every day now, I 
never was able to take such good aim. I know my eyesight, 
at a distance, is better than two years ago and I can pick ofif an 
object easily at seven hundred yards and an object not larger 
than a horse, at that. 

But just think how the United States of America has sud- 
denly taken upon itself to expand and acquire territory. 
The only " I told \-ou so " that I have made is, that this would 



152 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



eventually turn out to be a war of conquest. Isn't it already 
that and then, to think 1 am taking part in it and can continue 
to take part in whatever service we are called upon to perform ! 
Florine, I never could nerve myself up at home to talk 
straight from my soul but now the whole subject presents 
itself to me like this. Two courses were open to me — one, to 
finish my course in the study of law and then to begin practic- 
ing. Whether or not I should be successful in that was not 
certain. In any case, the practice of law will be still open, 
to be taken up at any time but in looking forward to that, the 
thought of having finally and forever turned my back upon the 
other course, suddenly opened to me, but opened, in all 
probability, but this once, during my whole life, — to carry 
with me, for all time, the thought that I had turned my face 
away from tlie chance of a life time, the one opportunity to 
show to myself and to you what stuff there was in me — that 
thought was unbearable. I could not live with myself hereafter, 
feeling that the greatest opportunity ever presented to any one 
had been by me neglected. Hence, I am here in camp, and 
with that thought, come these tears. 

But enough for now, although it does me good to relieve 
the pressure from within. 

About the box — don't send an\-thing more till I let you 
know. Two other boxes have been sent by some one — Mrs. 
S. and the cook at The Linden, probably. My tent mates 
have also received two or three boxes and the nice things 
would upset my stomach if I let myself eat much between 
meals. 

V\'e have all the daily and Sunday papers and ever\-thing 
we need. 

It is the joke of the camp hou- I passed the surgeon's ex- 
amination. I raised up on my toe nails to my utmost and 
stood firm. " h^ive feet, four," he said and that will be my 
official height, when we are mustered into the service of the 
best country that ever existed on the face of this earth. I tell 
you, the study of law gives a man as nothing else can the true 
idea of what the Stars and Stripes stand for. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 153 

Every night, at sunset, the gun fires, the flag is slowly 
lowered while the band plays '* The Star Spangled Banner " 
and every enlisted man in camp, whether he is cooking supper, 
playing foot-ball or far in the rear of the mess houses and out 
of sight, uncovers his head and remains so till the flag reaches 
the ground. That makes me cry, too. 

The only thing you can do, just now, is to write, if you 
can find anything to write about. How much I want to say. 
I hope this blubbering letter won't upset you." 

" My Dear G: — 

What say you and the " Strategic Board," in your office of 
Sampson's chances in getting at the Cape Verde fleet? That 
is what we are mostly interested in, down here, now. 

I have been writing to Florine and Mrs. S till I couldn't 
see much else than a lot of blurred lines, so I decided to take 
another tack and write to you. Possibly, however, I may get 
to blubbering again, thinking of you all. It don't take much 
to set me crying down here. If it was not that we are kept 
busy all day and don't have time to think of that march up 
Main Street and what it all meant, I should have red eyes 
most of the time. But Sunday there is a let up on the drilling 
and then I well up and run over about the eyes, when I 
begin to think of you all. 

Ask me what I am crying about — a man forty-five years 
and two days old — and I could not tell you. It is not because 
I am sitting in a tent, covered over with a rubber blanket and 
a cold, north-east storm blowing in my face. I have been out 
in cold storms before, many thousand miles from home too, 
away from friends and a stranger in a strange land and yet I 
had no thought of crying. But here, among a thousand friends, 
within a few miles of home and not a thing, so far, to prevent 
my returning home and yet 1 would not go home for all the 
money in Hartford. Nay more, the very thought of being 
compelled to return, now, would break my heart. I cry because I 
can stay — stay where I am or go farther from home, should 
the opportunity arise, or the order be given. It is because 1 

II 



134 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

have been permitted, during the course of my Hfe, to do as I 
have recently done and as I am doing to-day, that I fill up and 
choke — almost burst with gratitude. There it is again. 

How do you suppose I passed the U. S. surgeon's ex- 
amination? You know I am about ?^ or 3 inches short, so I 
went to a cobbler the day we left home and bought for fifteen 
cents sufficient heel leather to put inside of my shoes to raise 
me to the required standard. But what a homesick feeling I 
had when I learned that the surgeon examines every man of 
us with our clothes off. That made m}- little leather scheme 
of no use and I am out the fifteen cents. But when the time 
came, I stepped off the scales on tip toe, walked over to the 
measuring machine on my toes and then raised myself up on 
my very toe nails and stood firm. " Five feet, four" said the 
assistant, the surgeon never looked down at my feet and from 
this time on, if any fellow says I am short, the official records 
of the U. S. Army will be conclusive documentary evidence 
sufficient to rebut and repel the slander. 

Last Sunday the ground was covered in spots with hail 
and slush and the wind blew such a gale that man}' of the 
tents went down. To-day, beginning about 2 o'clock, a 
similar cold rain began and bids fair to repeat last Sunday's 
experience. Leaky tents add to the inconvenience, for if a 
drop of cold rain leaks in anywhere it is sure to eventually 
trickle down upon my bald head, if I undertake to lay down to 
sleep. Last Sunday night each one rolled up in his own blanket 
and double underclothes and stockings failed to keep me warm, 
hot stuff as I usuall}' am. To-night we are going to lay spoon 
fashion and see if we can't keep warm. This cold rain is 
making me hungry, so I must stop and go to supper. VVe 
shall have to eat in our tents to-night, I guess." 

Monday, May 16. A class-mate from the Yale Law 
School writes: "Arc there an\- vacancies in the regiment." 
1 am afr.iid he will get left if he waits for " vacancies." L^^ncle 
Sam isn't advertising "vacancies" just at present. Letters from 
home tell us we have been ordered to Mobile, Tybee Island 
or some other southern camp. Florinc, when she heard of it, 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 155 

wrote: " My blood felt cold in my veins for a long time." If 
wc had heard of such an order how different would have been 
the etifect upon us. Again we see how much easier it is for us 
to go than for those, dear to us, who have to remain at home. 
Will, (Colonel McCray) writes: " I understand there would 
have been a revolt in the company if the surgeon had refused 
to pass you." The faculty of the Yale Law School have just 
voted to recommend me for the degree of Master of Laws, in 
consideration of the fact that I had enlisted and in view, they 
write me, of the fact of my " previous high standing." Standing 
on tip-toe before the surgeon — that's what did it. I never 
stood so high in the community in my life, before or since. 
But I wonder how the faculty heard of it. 

Lance Corporal Cannon was chosen colonel's orderly to- 
day. Some of the men were allowed to go home on twenty- 
four hour furloughs to-day. This afternoon Colt's band left 
for home, playing " Auld Lang Syne " as they marched out of 
camp. Another heavy rain set in before 6 o'clock to-night 
and we had to fall back on the mess house for shelter again, at 
supper time. The Yale battery boys called on Private Morley 
to-night during the rain. He is from Yale and is suffering 
from a severe attack of the asthma. As they started away in 
the dusk, each wrapped about with his poncho, they began their 
familiar serpentine dance, going across the field over to the 
pagoda, four abreast, in a long wriggling line of jumping rubber 
blankets. It was a queer sight. The rain prevented the 
oyster supper " gang," as they are getting to be called, from 
getting back to camp to-night, the men making the best of it 
over in the Spiritualist camp. 

Tuesday, May 17. At guard mount, this morning, 
there was, of course, no music. The drummers beat a very 
undemonstrative tat-too, however, on the sides of their drums, 
during inspection. Private Gruener was colonel's orderly. 
One of the men was sent to the guard house this noon for dis- 
orderly conduct. He was soon released, however. 

This afternoon we were formally mustered into the service 
of the United States of America. The company was formed 



1^6 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



in column of twos and marched out upon the field. Then, 
in single file, as each name was called, we answered, " Here." 
and passed by the mustering officer, Lieutenant Rowan. The 
company was again formed, facing to the west, in two ranks, 
and with hats off and right arm uplifted, Lieutenant Rowan 
administered the oath to us. Then we signed the muster roll 
in triplicate and the ceremony was over. It certainly was the 
most important act in the life of each one of us and the men 
all seemed to appreciate this fact. During the waits, however, 
(for the ceremony took nearly the whole afternoon ), the men 





^-\\l.AKl.^l, I.N CO.MI'A.NV K, Al' MANllC, TlJ.hHAS, MAV I7, 1S98. 

got to fooling among themselves, while other companies were 
being sworn in and Captain Saunders received a very sarcastic 
call down from Lieutenant Rowan. 

At the oyster supper to-night Privates Bassett and 
Thayer, having earned the privilege by cleaning the table of 
fried oysters, successively kissed the cook, but only after a 
Priscilla Mullins hint from the old lady herself, 

Wednlsuav, May i8. I was on kitchen detail to-day 
with Private Johnson. Adjutant General Havens passed as I 
was splitting up some wood and spoke to me pleasantK*, as he 
always does, in fact. I wonder if what the reporters say but 
don't dare to publish, just now, is true — that he went to 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



157 



Washington sometime last month and spent several days 
quietly trying to get placed at the head of some brigade other 
than the Connecticut brigade, leaving an impression with 
the government that Connecticut troops were not ready nor 
fully equipped. Does this explain why Governor Cooke was so 
slow in calling us out? Was his chief military adviser the one 
upon whom the blame should, in fact, rest ? 

The Courant this morning says Lieutenant Colonel 
Redfield has resigned "on account of his health;" that he had 




SIGNING IIIIj: mustkr-kulls. 
Saunders. Valentine. Waterman. Moseley. 

made up his mind to remain with the regiment to be mustered 
into the United States service and go to the front, but that last 
Saturday he was examined by Doctors H. G. Howe and 
William D. Morgan, and they told him he mustn't. So he 
didn't. To say the least, this seems a little rough on Doctors 
Rockwell and McCook, who had examined him a day or two 
before and found him physically all right and able to go to the 



158 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

front. But then, when doctors disagree who shall decide? If 
still in doubt take the side of safety. Better be safe than 
sorry. Henry is safe and the rest of us are sorry, sorry, for 
he was an old K man, "'tis true, 'tis pity and pity 'tis, 'tis true." 

The regiment was ordered out upon the field this forenoon 
and two men from New Britain, who refused yesterday to sign 
the muster roll and boasted that they never intended to when 
they left home, were drummed out of camp, after marching 
along the entire line of the regiment at the point of the 
bayonet. Private Pierce was to-day appointed drum major of 
the new band being formed. Private Moiloy, the captain's 
servant, but more familiarly know as the " Dog robber," was 
visited to-night in his tent by the White Caps. 

Thursday, M.W 19. The articles of war were read to 
us to-day. Private Barrows was severely injured this afternoon, 
during a game of ball in which he was a spectator, by being 
struck b\' a wild throw. He was taken to the hospital. 

Frhjav, May 20. This extract is from a letter home: 
" Last night while out on guard, a ripping thunder storm came 
up from the west and gave me a new experience. I was No. i 
man at guard quarters and had to be specially alert. The 
lightning was magnificent and for an instant made the whole 
sleeping camp light as da\'. Then, how dark ! I had on my 
overcoat and over that a rubber blanket with a slit in the 
middle through which we poke our heads. When the storm 
struck the camp I turned my back to the wind and let it pelt 
away, careful only to keep the muzzle of my gun down. I 
rather liked it, standing there alone at 2.30 a. m., with not a 
soul near. Prett}' soon No. 2 man, a mere bo}', loomed up 
out in the dark. Of course I yelled " Halt, who is there." He 
told nie who he was and then asked, in a low \-oice, " Do }'ou 
think that is chain lightning." I told him I guessed not, 
though it was coming down as sharp and fast as any lightning, 
chain or chainless, I ever saw. 

" I hope not," he answered. " I don't mind sheet 
lightning but 1 wouldn't want to be around with this gun if 
that was chain liehtnine." We stood there and talked in 



CHRONOLOGICAL. I 59 

low tones till we found the water coming up over our shoes and 
then we started out to find higher ground. He finally moved 
away, considerably reassured when I told him I was now sure 
it was nothing anyway but sheet lightning. 

One of the things T like about this whole affair is the way 
men are tested. If a man is a shirk, here it is found out. If 
he is indifferent to the rights of others, he shows it. Put four 
men into a space eight feet square and make them all sleep, 
dress, undress and possibly eat there and still compel them, 
once in twenty-four hours, to have every article of clothing 
and every piece of equipment in just such a place — under such 
conditions you find a man out. A hair brush in sight or a 
towel carelessly folded causes the tent to be called down and 
each of the tent mates suffers for the carelessness and indiffer- 
ence of the others. I tell you, under such conditions, the 
essentials in a man's character are brought to the surface. If 
he has anything of real worth you find it out. A good tent 
mate is a pretty good man. I am pretty lucky in mine, all 
things considered but perhaps the joint opinion of the other 
three, as to myself, would be of more value to an inquiring 
mind." 

Battery B left camp this morning at 9.30 for coast defense 
duty. The regiment marched out into the country about 
four miles, before dinner. Upon their return the whole 
company were ordered to wash their feet. Private Morley 
went on a tour of inspection in front of his tent looking for 
bugs. Trumpeter Camp and Musician Ashwell moved over to 
the band street to-day. My police duty this afternoon in- 
cluded the work of disinfecting the sinks of the entire camp, a 
prett}- malodorous matter in one or two instances. Tent 2 i 
was "raided" to-night and the inmates scattered. Private 
Marion sought shelter with us " little runts " in Tent 12. 

Saturday, May 21. Lieutenant Waterman was officer 
of the guard and Private Fulton colonel's orderly, to-day. 
The regiment took an out-post tramp towards Cresent Beach 
of about six miles. The veteran members of the company 
remembered us to-day with a box of oranges and tub of butter. 



i6o 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 




CHRONOLOGICAL. l6l 

The " regulators " got a rope around the "dog-robber's" leg 
and nearly tore him, limb from limb, astride the tent pole, 
to-night. 

Sunday, May 22. About 3 o'clock this morning Private 
Morley made an unsuccessful trip down back of the mess 
house but soon returned to the neighborhood of his own tent. 
One of his tent mates, Private Walsh, a few hours after, upon 
turning out at early morning roll call, discovered some govern- 
ment property in the wash basin outside the tent and 
immediatel}' demanded : 
" Who owns that? " 

"That's mine," replied Private Morley, meekly, taking 
upon himself all the burdens which such ownership imposes. 
Private Cannon split his fingers apart at base-ball this 
afternoon. 

To-day has been of the finest. At dress parade a photo- 
graph of the entire regiment was taken. Not long after, 
rumors of an order breaking up the regiment, were noised 
about. Later in the evening the rumors began to materialize. 
At 9.30 the order came, smashing the regiment into fragments. 
They say when the order for two companies for Portland was 
read during an officers' meeting at regimental headquarters 
to-night, the officers of two companies instinctively turned 
and looked towards each other, and that is how Companies 
K and F were ordered to go to Portland. The boys are wild, 
yelling and cheering like Indians. I had turned in but in less 
than a minute the tent was full of men, piled up ?lmost to the 
ridge pole, lying across each other in all directions and shout- 
ing like mad. The street did not get quieted down till late at 
night. 

Monday, May 23. Company turned out at 5 a. m. 
Tents stripped, things packed and street thoroughly policed 
by 9.30. Dinner at 11. Left camp at 12 and joined Com- 
panies F and C at the station. Cheers for Colonel Burdett, 
Adjutant Wainwright, Dr. McCook, Sergeant ]\Ioseley and all 
those left behind. Left Niantic at 12.45. At New London 
the K cheer was given with a will. Arrived at Providence 



1 62 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

at 2.30 and Hoston at 3.40. Considerable enthusiasm 
shown at Somerville. Cottee and sandwiches at Ports- 
mouth during which Private Sobieralski, better known, event- 
ually, as " Sober-whiskey," received a swat in the mouth with 
a piece of ham fat, much to the entertainment of all but the 
recipient of the ham. Reached Portland at 8 p. m. 

Tlesdav. May 24. Up at 6 a. m. Rain during the 
night. Went over to West End Hotel and had hot water to 
wash with. It felt fine. Breakfast at the station— ham, corn 
beef, beans and coffee. At 9 a. m. we took four trolle}- cars 
through the city for the ferry. All along the route there were 
girls to burn. Arrived at Prospect Hill, South Portland, near 
Fort Preble at 10.30. Soon began to rain. At the fort not a 
gun is mounted nor did I sec but one man on guard. We 
have not a single round of ball cartridges. This is doing 
coast defense duty with a vengeance. What fine condition we 
are in to repel an attack from Spanish marines, for instance. 

Wednesday, May 25. Rain before breakfast and during 
most of the day. The retreat roll call is at 7, tattoo at 9 and 
taps at 9.15. Check roll call to-night at 1 1. To-day the boys 
had lots of fun with an old flat trolley car down by the beach, 
pushing it up the grade and letting it run down the hill with a 
rush. 

Thursday, May 26. Another cold and cloudy day. 
Let the following extract from a letter of even date tell how we 
pass the time : 

" Whether I can make you see us as we are, depends on 
whether the bo\'s stop firing each other in upon us, huddled 
together in our tent. I am sitting doubled up on a pile of 
straw, against the side wall of the tent. Four others are lying 
in the center of the tent playing whist, a sixth is at the door 
trying to shave and two others are just outside, watching the 
game. A little kitten has become our guest and is crawling 
about all over everybody and everything. Occasionally some 
one comes in and walks right across the whist table (which is a 
newspaper raised up on a pile of straw.) Before the intruder 
can get what he is after and get out, some one grabs him by 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 163 

the leg, another gives him a push and he falls full length over 
the players, nearly crushing the cat in his struggles to get up. 

The tent floor is about two feet deep with a conglomerate 
mass of knapsacks, blankets, overcoats, caps, shoes, leggins, 
haversacks, pipes, boxes of tobacco, glass jars of raspberry 
jelly, marmalade, pine-apple cheese, canned cherries, canteens, 
tin cups, newspapers, rubber blankets, imderclothing, bundles 
of unwashed laundry, towels — all the personal property and 
household furniture of six men. (Now there are six of us in a 
tent.) This assortment is thoroughly concealed (whenever 
any particular article is wanted) by a mass of straw, more or 
less wet from the thirty-six hours' rain which has just ceased, 
temporarily. 

How do we sleep in such a mess? Simply great! When 
we arrived Tuesday the ground was so soaked with the rain of 
Monday night that a floor to sleep on was a prudent thing to 
provide ourselves with. Two of us had noticed a big board 
sign, back on the road a short distance. It didn't take long to 
pull this up out of the ground, run with it to the tent and saw 
it up to fit. But that only covered half of the space, so I 
started out foraging again. A vacant cottage a short distance 
away was provided with a two-plank walk to the woodshed in 
the rear. Those planks were borrowed but still the cold, cold 
ground in that tent stared us in the face. Finally, the matched 
plank walk leading from the front door of this vacant house 
out to the sidewalk appeared to be willing to serve its country 
and it was forthwith removed bodily to our tent. It was just a 
fit and will be returned uninjured when we are through with it. 

With a floor in, the rest came easy. A bale of straw to 
each tent was issued, to last for thirty days, so we only shook 
out part of it. On top of the straw we laid our overcoats and 
covered ourselves with blankets, feet towards the flap of the 
tent. As the tents are all pitched on the side hill of a rocky 
cow pasture, the floors were far from being level. I was on the 
lower side when we went to sleep that night. The next morn- 
ing all five of my tent mates, big strapping six-footers, had 
rolled down hill on top of me, leaving plenty of room on the 



164 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

upper side for three or four more, in case there was any 
necessity for putting more men in a tent. I think it might be 
well to put about four more in each tent and then we shouldn't 
shuck around so much. As for the straw, it is everywhere, in 
our hair, in our underclothing, in our stockings and shoes, in 
our eyes, in our knapsacks, in our raspberry jelly, canned 
cherries — but no one minds it. no one cares a straw. Since we 
came here it has rained all the time, so we had to keep to our 
tents and with the whole bale of straw shaken out, as some of 
the men have done, it is like crawling up on to a hay mow to 
get into a tent, l^ut we sleep warm anyway and the bits of 
straw in our underclothes — I take off shoes, stockings and all 
but m\- underclothes — keep us itching through the day and 
keep us warm by night. 

The trip here was uneventful. At Portsmouth, where we 
left Company C, we had coffee and sandwiches issued to us 
from the baggage car door. On arriving at Portland at 8 
o'clock, no one apparently knew we were coming, but soon the 
station was crowded. Fort Preble was four miles by trolley 
and ferry or seven miles b)' road. Men with fifty to sixty 
pounds of baggage each and a gun could hardh' be expected 
to make that, that night, so some old passenger cars were run 
into the station and we stayed in them that night. Lucky we 
did, for rain began to fall before midnight and had we made 
for Fort Preble that night, sleeping on the ground in the rain 
would have been our lot. That may come later, all well 
enough, but I hope it will be in a warmer climate than Maine. 
There would have been little sleep in the cars, so cramped were 
the quarters, but I got on to a scheme of shifting the seats and 
raising the backs of the seats, so that the six-footers could lie 
out straight, with their feet sticking through into the next seat. 
I fixed a dozen men up in that way before midnight. 

Tuesda\' morning, after breakfast of coftee and ham sand- 
wiches, out of the baggage car, we took four trolley cars 
through the city to the ferry. Everybody, though the crowd 
was not large, welcomed us heartily and we enjoyed the trolley 
rather than tramping three or four miles. Both the City 



CHRONOLOGICAL 



i6= 



Guard and Company K gave their company yells as we rode 
along, whenever a sufficient provocation arose. 

Prospect Hill, where we pitched our camp, is about one- 
fourth of a mile outside Fort Preble, a dismantled fort with 
barracks. Beds for sixteen mortars are being quarried out of 
the solid rock there, but further than that Fort Preble is use- 
less as a present defense. About eighty men are now in the 
barracks, sleeping and lying around in hot, stuffy rooms, 
heated to nearly 8o by big coal stoves. T had rather sleep six 




THK Ml'SICIANS, A LA SOL'SA. 
Foley. Taber. Camp. Ashwell. 

in a leak}' tent than stop one night in those barracks. None ot 
that for me. 

Before we got our stakes down it began to rain But 
our cook had dinner ready, (fried pork, tomato soup, coffee and 
bread,) and we sat around on the rocks in the rain without a 
complaint. The rain made the bread a little soggy and the 
cold stones cooled the coffee pretty quickly, but we all had 
enough to eat. 

Yesterday a few of us walked two miles over to Portland 
Head, in the rain of course. Five ten-inch disappearing guns 



1 66 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

are there ready for business. The switchboard for firing the 
mines in the harbor is also located there. Men with glasses 
patrol the headland day and night and three patrol boats ply 
just outside, holding up every crait that comes near. It really 
looked like business out there. 

Guard is posted around the two company streets, day and 
night. This morning at guard mount our little bugler, at 
sound off, paraded up and down before the guard with all 
possible pomp. The come down from Colt's fine band to a 
single bugler was very funny. The corps of musicians will soon 
be increased to four. Thus far we have done nothing but 
eat, sleep, guard and police the streets. What we are to do 
no one knows." 

This extract from a Portland paper speaks for itself: 

"The two Connecticut companies now encamped on the 
northerly slope of Prospect Hill, near Fort Preble, have had a 
wet time of it ever since they arrived here. Their tents are 
soaked and they are waiting patiently for sunshine to dry them 
out, when their camp life will be much pleasanter. 

These two companies, F and K, have some fine looking 
soldiers in them. Company K is composed entirely of Hart- 
ford boys and is the crack military organization of that city. 
Its members are nearly all from well-to-do families and many 
of them are prominent in Hartford society. In the company 
are several college graduates and a number of Yale boys. The 
men have left good positions, such as clerkships in banks and 
insurance ofifices, and some of them were engaged in business 
for themselves. They expected to be sent south and the 
orders to go to Maine were a surprise to them which they did 
not welcome. It is probable that they will soon be transferred 
from their present camping ground to Portland Head or Fort 
Preble." 

To-day a photograph of the company was taken in the 
company street, all of the members but Private Morley getting 
together. When asked to come in he replied: " O, go away 
with your damned photographer." Our cat has been named 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



167 




:=2g ^fei 






_ r. J. = - '- - 






: u. _ « — X — a: 






1 68 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

" Infanta Isabella." To-night the first drum-head court- 
martial was held, Privates Gruener and Thayer, two judicial 
bald heads acting as judges. Private Marvel, the accused, was 
ably defended by Sergeant Beebe who, in his closing argument 
was completely overcome with emotion, so wrapped up in his 
client's cause had he become. Prix'atc Walsh was judge advocate 
and among the witnesses were Privates Low, Camp, Dwyer and 
Webster. The charge against the prisoner, who was placed 
under guard in one of the tents at the lower end of the street, 
was wasting his substance by^ riotous living. The govern- 
ment's case at first did not prove a strong one and the accused 
seemed to stand a good chance of being acquitted when, just 
as the court was about to render its decision, new evidence 
was discovered by Private Nunan. This damning evidence 
contained clear and overwhelming proof of the prisoner's 
guilt. It was admitted and marked " Exhibit A." The 
court, without further delay, found the prisoner guilty 
and sentenced him to be hanged. A plea for mercy was, 
however, entertained and a fine of $1.75 was imposed instead. 
This remaining unpaid, the prisoner was forthwith taken b\- 
the guard, thoroughly cleansed with cold water, rigidly inspected 
and then allowed to go. To-night a fleet of Spanish warships 
were reported off Halifax harbor, close by. Who's afraid ! 

Friday, May 27. Private Marvel has gone to the 
hospital. At 2 o'clock this morning another cold, driving rain 
set in and continued all da\' and nearly all night. I went on 
guard at 9 o'clock. Another extract from a letter written 
during the day best describes how we live: 

" I wrote you yesterday that the rain had ceased, tem- 
porarily. It did, but only for a few hours and began again 
last night. I have just come in from guard duty and have 
three or four hours to lie around in the wet guard tent, so will 
use up the time in writing you. The rain has been falling in 
sheets all da\' and the temperature is none too high, but I ha\'e 
kept warm by putting on two pairs of stockings and ni)' feet 
have only been slightly wet once. This afternoon, while I was 
standing in front of the guard tent, out ot the rain as much as 



CHRONOLOOICAL. 169 

possible, an old farmer approaching from out in the mist and 
rain and said, " Haven't you got a couple of sick men you can 
send over to my house? I want to do something for you and 
can take care of two just as well as not." 

As soon as I was relieved I went down our street and 
peeked into every tent. In one were Private \V. O. Case, 
and Corporal Pierce, both coughing as if they were 
trying to raise their lungs. Both had got wet through 
some way and neither saw anything before him but another 
night in a wet tent, sleeping in wet clothes. I hustled 
them out and started with them to find where the farmer 
lived. I did not know his name but after inquiring at one or 
two houses and describing the man I found the house. When 
I knocked a woman opened the door instantly and smiling 
quickly said, "Yes, this is the house; come in." I explained 
that I was not the sick one but introduced the other two and left 
them in the hands of these good people. This forenoon another 
farmer notified our officers that his large barn, with all his hay, 
was at the service of the one hundred and sixty Connecticut 
men here, to sleep in. Another man this noon, not far away, 
hunted up the key to a large Good Templar hall near by and 
this has been thrown open to all who chose to leave their 
tents to seek better shelter. Still another man has offered 
his hay mow to us. The hospital would not hold all the men 
who have severe colds and these spontaneous acts of the 
people hereabouts show the good people in Maine are not all 
gone, by a large majority. My hours of duty to-night will be 
from 7 to 9 p. m. and from i to 3 a. m. 

'ihis noon, when I was relieved, I went down the side hill 
to the store tent to get something to eat. In some miraculous 
way our cook (he is a fine one, having had experience in the 
regular army) had got dinner for eighty-four men and did it 
out in the driving rain. Each man took his tin plate and cup 
of coffee and sought shelter as best he could. A few ran back 
into their tents, but many hustled into an old barn near by. I 
pushed my way into an old hen coop where were perhaps a 
dozen others, sitting on boxes or standing up. The dinner 



I70 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



was, salt pork, \'ery fat; boiled potatoes, cofifee and hard tack. 
The coffee and potatoes were hot but the pork got pretty cold 
before we could finish it. The farmer had hung up some of 
the remnants of a butchering bee in this hen coop and coal 
ashes, boxes of straw, etc., were freely distributed about. 
While this detachment of the United States arm\' was still in 
forcible possession of this hen coop, an old hen, with more 




"TruN orr the guard, .\kmi h i'\ut\. 

courage than discretion, walked boldh' in between our legs, 
went directh' to her nest of straw and began business at the 
old stand as usual, ignoring entireh' the presence of guns and 
ba\'onets. Some of the boys threatened to await exents and 
the egg, but the old hen pro\-ed, for once, that all things tlo 
not come to those who wait. 

(^ur kitten is still with us, contented as can be. 

I thank my stars for the rough experience the dift'erent 
trips on my wheel compelled me to endure, for I don't mind 
this at all. Hut I feel sorr}' for the \-oung fellows who cannot 



CHRONOLOGICAL, I/I 

eat salt pork three times a day as I can. To-night, for supper. 
we had a fine beef stew, as good a supper as any man could 
asked for. We reached here Monday and this is Friday. So far. 
all we have done in the way of protecting the city of Portland 
from the Spanish fleet has been to eat. sleep, roam about 
where we please, in the rain, and once or twice a day answer 
to roll call." 

Private Oviatt nearly lost an eye while on guard last night. 
A stack of guns in the guard tent fell over in the dark and a 
bayonet struck him just above the eye, cutting a severe gash 
but just missing the eye-ball. It was a lucky escape. 

S.A.TURDAY, May 28. Another cold and foggy day. 
Privates McKee and Hayden went to the hospital to-day. 
Guard mount was re-hearsed three times this morning. The 
company drill to-day was the first since leaving Niantic and 
to-night we had a dress parade with a four company forma- 
tion. " lack," our new mastiff, took a prominent position in 
the center of the parade grounds. He is all right, but snores 
terribly. 

Su.XDAV, May 29. Rain during the night but the morn- 
ing was foggy and slightly warmer. From forty to fifty of F 
and K men attended the State Street Church, South Portland, 
this forenoon. The church was appropriately trimmed with 
red. white and blue bunting and the singing by the many male 
voices was fine. Extra dinner to-day of roast beef, mashed 
potatoes, peas, coffee and pie I I Many of the men went to 
church this afternoon also. Tent 12, (Sergeant Henry Hunt- 
ington, Corporal Campbell, Privates Ward and Bassett) gave 
the company a treat to clam chowder for supper. The good 
people of the neighborhood still continue to throw open their 
houses to those of us who are under the weather. Private 
McKee has been detailed to the hospital corps. Six in a tent 
is conducive to one thing, at least — interesting theological dis- 
cussions between my two tent mates. Privates Fulton and San- 
derson. "Al" says " Sandy" is nothing but a human bed hog. 
Monday, May 30. Memorial Day. Rain fell heavily 
during the night and the morning was cloudy with a thick 



\~2 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

mist. At seven minutes and twenty seconds past nine, how- 
ever, the sun came out and the men let <jo a heart}' cheer in 
honor of the event. The time I noted, so remarkable 
was the event. Later there was a company drill for an 
hour. At 12.30 Companies F and K left camp and marched 
over to Portland for the purpose of taking part in the 
Memorial Da\- ceremonies. The Hosworth Post, G. A. R. 
entertained us later in the day, the old veterans and the new. 
We returned to camp at 6 o'clock. 

The Portland papers had the following, misnomers and ail : 

"The afternoon parade was, as usual, the feature of the 
day's observance which attracted the most public attention. 
Portland's four companies of the Maine National Guard, which 
have every year regarded it as a part of their official duty to 
tender their services as escort for the veterans on Memorial 
Da\-, were missed from the ranks. 

There absence on this da\' of tender memories was keenly 
felt by many a spectator who watched the procession pass. 

But the place of the Portland militia men was filled by the 
tine looking, well drilled, gentlemanly companies of Connecti- 
cut infantry who are stationed as guard for the batteries at 
Fort Preble. The favorable mention of these companies that 
had appeared in the newspapers made Portland especially 
anxious to see the Connecticut troops. The sight was not dis- 
appointing. All along the line of march the)' were greeted 
with handclapping and cheers. Two companies, K and F, were 
marched in battalion formation, Capt. H. II. Saunders acting 
as major, Lieut. N. S. Valentine as atijutant, and the 
companies being commanded as follows: First, Lieut. F. H. 
Waterman; second, Sergt. Huntington; third, Lieut. F. II. 
Smith ; fourth, Capt. C. W. Newton." 

"The procession started prompth' on the hour named, 1.30 
o'clock. I'irst marched a platoon of stalwart policemen and 
then came Chief Marshal, Major Holman S. Melcher and his 
staff, all well mounteil. Chandler's band came next ami then 
the two companies, K and F, of Connecticut Volunteers, under 
command of Captain Sargent of Co. F. These two companies 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 1/3 

are made up of finely built }'oung men of soldierly bearing and 
splendid appearance in ev^ery way. It is a long time since two 
better companies marched through the streets of Portland and 
the applause all along the line proved that the people gave 
them their full approval and appreciation. The faces of the 
men were set steadily to the front and the whole line swung 
along with an easy marching step that was delightful to see. 
They are the crack companies of Connecticut and their state 
may well be proud of them. Along the line of march the boys 
got the first glimpse of the sun they have had since they 
arrived here a week ago." 

" T he streets were thronged with people as tiie parade 
passed and the Connecticut boys must have felt complimented 
by the liberal applause and cheers as well as the many com- 
plimentar}' words concerning their appearance and marching 
that were spoken as they passed. They marched with the 
snap and steadiness of veterans and their manceuvering was 
watched with great interest. They were in fatigue uniform 
with black web caitridge belts and leggins and marched with 
unfixed bayonets a sure sign that there is a state of war. On 
turning into Cumberland street from Pearl the formation was 
changed from column of fours to platoon front amid great 
applause. Later on when the line reached Congress Street 
coming down Capt. Saunders showed the people his new 
" electric car formation " which pleased the onlookers even 
more. This movement consists, the company being in line 
of platoons front of the command, one set of fours break from 
left to the rear. The set of fours halts for six steps and then 
executes an oblique movement bringing them to the rear of the 
next set of four and just opening up one track for cars. When 
the car passes the command is given to double quick into line 
again and the platoon formation is resumed." 

Another court martial was held to-night, this one in Good 
Templar's Hall. Dog- robber Malloy was the accused and 
Sergeant Beebe and Private McKone were his counsel. 
Several distinct complaints were brought against the prisoner, 
one being disobedience to orders in firing from his tent, Iving 



'74 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



(low II. Private Morley testified he heard the report and after 
chasing it for nearly a mile, ran it down. He exhibited it to 
the court. Corporal Silvernail and Privates Gruener and 
Thayer acted as judges. The sentence of the court was that 
the prisioner should be given a cold water shower bath. He 
was accordingly partially undressed and the water was gently 
sprinkled over him. While the sentence was being executed, 
however, some one, by accident, upset the whole pail full ot cold 
water upon the prisoner and with a yell of fright aiid still 
partially undressed he broke from the guard, ran out of the hall 




*(«! |._ « 



A K.MS VKKTICAl., 



AT I'DKTI.AMi 



across the parade grounds towards the officer's quarters and fell 
in a heap just before reaching that place of sa(et)-. He was 
brought back to camp by Private Eno who was close u])on him 
as he fell. After consultation, the accused was released by the 
court on parol, upon his promising to " set up " several dozens 
of beer for the companw 

TUESI).\\', May 31. Wcallur fine. The C(Miipan\- was 
put through the setting up exercises for the first time and we 
all enjoyed the movements. Upon the question of a company 
photograph the men divided apparenth' according to height, 
the " little runts," as those tui the left of the line are getting to 
be callcil, defeating the motions b\' four votes. Half a dozen 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 1 75 

of the men went sailing a dozen or fifteen miles, to-day. 
Muster and inspection was held on the parade grounds. Some 
of us went in swimming off the rocks but the water was, oh, so 
cold. The daily rain came at dress parade to-night. Private 
R; A. Case, better known as " Mother " Case, found an old 
cow bell somewhere and became quite frisky this evening. 
She kicked Private Tinkham over when he tried to milk her 
and smashed the milk pail. 

Here is another letter written home to- day : 

"This morning we saw the sun for the first time since we 
went "to the front." Yesterday the sun cast a shadow for a 
few seconds, but it failed to appear after that during the day 
and the daily rain came as usual, late in the afternoon. But 
to-day the sky is blue and the water on three sides of the 
camp is bluer still. Surely, if we must remain in this vicinity, 

no pleasanter outlook could have been selected June 1st. 

Before I could finish this letter we were called out to muster 
yesterday and the dress parade at 6.30 was held in the rain, so I 
take back what little commendation was inadvertently ex- 
pressed yesterday in regard to the weather. But our straw and 
blankets have finally been thoroughly dried and we all feel 
better. 

Memorial Day had a peculiarly tender effect upon us all. 
We marched over to Portland and paraded with the G. A. R. 
and other organizations. The crowd applauded us heartily 
but when we were finally massed about the fine Soldiers' 
Monument, the G. A. R. in front, and large wreaths of lovely 
flowers were placed upon the four sides of the pedestal of the 
monument as the band played the familiar " Prayer from Der 
Freischutz," then I began to fill up and run over at the eyes 
again, as I did at Xiantic so often. The day has a new signifi- 
cance to us from this time. How proud I was to act as 
escort to that body of gray haired veterans ! 

Captain Saunders, in reply to a short address by members 
of the G. A. R. at their tjuarters, referred to the possibility of 
flowers being placed upon the graves of some of us, a year from 
now. The few words he said were just right, well chosen 



1/6 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



and to the point. I was glad to have such a captain, at 
such a time. 

Our officers are not with us now nearly as much as 
formerl)-, they having taken as their quarters a cottage near 
by, but Lieutenant Waterman whenever he comes into the 
company street shows by his actions that the U. S. Arm}^ 
regulations regarding intercourse between officers and men 
have not changed him in the least. 

The two men upon whom the brunt of work falls, in our 



If 




OrFICHRS' "I'KKI-ORATl':!) TKXT" AT I'OKTI.AXn. 
Morluy. Newton. Vnluntiiie. Sniiili. Waterman. Saumlor.*. Ripley. 

new camp life, are First Sergeant Huntington and Quarter- 
master Sergeant Beebe and if there ever were two fellows for 
wlioin I like to work it is those two. Vou can realize how 
the little things to be done about a house fret a woman. These 
two men have all the details of camp life to see to and their 
characters are being tested as arc the characters of no other 
men in the company. It is not too much to sa\- they are 
turning out jMirc gold. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. ' 177 

We liave had two drum-head court rnartials, both of them 
as funny as they could be. The last one was held in the Good 
Templar's Hall, close by, and the three judges were Corporals 
Silvernail and Gruener and myself, all bald heads. Some of 
the testimony, however, upset the usual dignified air which we 
all tried to maintain. The captain's servant, better known as 
the " Dog-Robber," was the prisoner and the manner in which 
he escaped and ran across the parade grounds in the moon- 
light only partly dressed, after the sentence of the court had 
been but partially executed, was the funniest thing of all. 

To-night, in place of the regular mess, there will be 
served up to us, out on the parade grounds, the best that the 
good women of South Portland can supply. The tables are 
now being set, with the assistance of a detail of men from each 
company. O, the life of a soldier (if he is in Company K or 
F) is hard indeed, isn't it? Really the most that can be said 
regarding our experience, so far, is that it has been most 
awfully uncomfortable and that is about all. No real hardships 
have been in it. 

" lack," a magnificent big mastiff who followed us over 
from the West End Hotel in Portland, is getting to be such 
a favorite that we think of giving him a commission. One 
night, at dress parade, he took a commanding position in front 
of the line, sat down on his haunches and took keen interest in 
all the manoeuvers. But when Captain Saunders took up his 
position to the rear of Jack and began to give out the com- 
mands in a loud voice, Jack looked around sharply at him, 
several times, as much as to say "Steady, there, I am running 
this thing." 

But lack snores so no one can sleep near him, much less 
with him, in the same tent, so the men on guard entice him 
awa>- from the tents as much as possible. One night while on 
guard a full grown cat passed up and down the post with me 
for an hour, rubbing up against my leggins whenever I stopped 
to challenge and purring as peacefully as if no war anywhere 
existed. Our little kitten has become a fixture and is getting 
so she does not get stepped on but once or twice a da}', which 



1/8 ' CliKONOLOGICAL. 

is doing ver\' well with se\'cn in a tent, six men and Her Ro\-al 
Highness, " Infanta Isabella." 

Will is here and you just bet I am glad to see him. I 
must stop, now. Am all right and feeling first rate and wish 
you were as well." 

Wkdnesd.vn', June i. Weather, ])artly cIdikI}- but 
good air. Private Eno's three sisters visited camp to-day. 
Muster roll was signed. Colonel McCray of the governor's 
staff was also in camp to-day. At 5.30 the good people of 
South Portland set two long tables on the parade grounds and 
loaded them with clam chowder, lobsters, biscuit, coffee, cake, 
etc. Members of Companies K and F unloaded them. 
Speeches and singing were also a part of the program. At 
parade to-night Sergeant Holt took a tumble all b\' himself. 
He was acting as guide and in running fell headlong o\"er a 
dog, much to the amusement of all who saw the performance. 
Judge Advocate Walsh and Clerk Shea, of the military court 
martial, paraded 111 their new paraphernalia this evening for the 
first time. 

'rilUKSD.W, June 2. Rain but some warmer. Private 
Morley this evening asserted his right to occup\- a por- 
tion of his tent to the exclusion of some visitors of Private 
V. C. Burnell. h'or some time the full beards once so couimon 
in the company have been gradually disappearing and this 
afternoon the last one. Private Fisher's, blew awa}'. 

To-night the Universalist Society invited the two com- 
panies to a banquet at their hall and later in the evening there 
was music and dancing. The bo}'S had a great time. I know 
the pot of baked beans that I brought back with me from the 
hall went fine, soon after midnight while I was out on 
guard. I wonder when we begin to work the big guns 
we were sent up here to guard. The Courant wants me 
to telegraph aii\- important news. So far, the church 
" feeds " and the court martials have been the most impor- 
tant events to us. 

A Portland paper describes the Universalist reception as 
follows : 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 179 

"Union Opera House presented a scene of great brilliancy 
last evening on the occassion of the reception tendered the 
command at "Camp l^ourdttt" by the Ladies' Circle of the 
Universalist parish. The troops marched to the hall and 
being welcomed by the reception committee enjoyed a 
delicious supper which was awaiting them. The tables were 
handsomely decorated with bouquets and glasses of cut flowers 
with large center pieces and were most inviting in appearance. 
About 170 of the command took seats at the tables and dur- 
ing the progress of the supper delightful music was rendered 
by six pieces of the South Portland orchestra who were 
assisted at the piano by Miss Estelle Spear and accompanied 
by Miss Broughton as violinist. 

■ An address of welcome was made by Rev. Mr. Kimmell 
and happily responded to by Captain Saunders, followed by 
three cheers from the men. Mr. Fred. Knight entertained the 
party with an effective vocal solo and the soldiers, in their 
turn, heartily rendered several numbers, such as " Sweet 
MoUie Maguire," " Tenting on the Old Camp Ground," and 
"The Lope and the Monk." 

Soon after eight o'clock the doors were open to friends of 
the parish and the number present was soon swelled to quite 
three hundred peoi^le. 

The scene at this hour was a most animated one and 
dancing was indulged in but under some difficulties on account 
of the crowded condition of the hall. 

Sociability reigned on all sides and the evening was most 
pleasantly jjassed." 

Friday, June 3. Another class mate at Yale writes: " I 
would have enlisted in a minute but for the two years term 
and — and." What docs he expect, I wonder, special terms 
from Uncle Sam in his case ? Showers all day and no drills 
but the setting up exercise. 

An informal drum-head court martial was held in camp 
this evening which was of more than usual interest and impor- 
tance, not only because of the previous good standing ot the 
prisoner, but also as showing the constantly rising standard of 



I So CITKOXOLOGICAL. 

military discipline now being maintained in the United States 
Volunteer armw Private Hawkins of Company F (Yale, 
1900) was the victim. He had previously been invited to 
Private Morlev's tent in K street (Morley also being a student 
from Yale), and was feasting on the good things sent to 
Morley's tent in a box from home when a detail of six men 
lined up in front of the tent. Hawkins was ordered by Cor- 
poral Pierce to come out of the tent. When he did so Haw- 
kins was promptly seized by the guard and taken to Good 
Templar's Hall near by where from 100 to 150 of the enlisted 
men had come together to witness the fun. Lieutenant Ripley 
was an interested spectator but discreetly remained in the 
rear of the hall. 

When the prisoner had been conducted to the dock the 
judges. Sergeant Major Bailey and Sergeant Marshall of 
Company F and Private Thayer of Company K, with un- 
covered heads, proceeded through the crowded room and took 
their seats on the bench with becoming dignity. 

" Mr. Marshall, )'ou may open court," said one of the 
judges. 

Corporal Piddock of Company F, acting as United States 
marshal, rapped for order and opened the court in due form. 
Private W'alsh of Compan\' K, acting as judge advocate and 
placing a tin basin upon his head (whether intended to take 
the place of the ancient wig or the modern militar}' helmet being 
left uncertain), called the case of" United States vs. Hawkins." 

Private Shea of Company K, acting as clerk of the court, 
then read the complaint which contained five counts, to wit: 
Unlawfully allowing his beard to grow in cam[) without con- 
sent of Captain Newton ; using profanity during his hours of 
duty; disturbing the sleep of sick men in the camp hospital; 
taking blankets without authority; conduct unbecoming a 
volunteer. 

The original i).uiel (^f jurors was exhausted and talesmen 
were called in. Private Norris of Com|ian\- F swore he knew 
nothing in regard to the case and he believed himself com- 
petent to act as a juror, but the fact was brought out on ex- 
amination that he had taken paregoric when a baby and he 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



l8l 



was therefore promptly excused by the court. Corporal Silver- 
nail said he was thirty }'ears old, but later swore he had lived in 
this country thirty-two years. This admission on his part was 
not considered sufficient to disqualify him. Private Dowen of 
Company F was found to have once attended a cock fight in 
Parkville, Conn., U. S. A., and was put under arrest at that 
time. Attorneys for both sides, upon learning this, promptly 
accepted him as a juror. Sergeant Holt of Company K 




VARSOX HAWKINS. 

Richardson. Cook. Gooding. J. H. Campbell. Fisher. 

appeared only in a red sweater and rubber leggins and when 
ordered by the court to appear in uniform, claimed he had no 
other clothes dry. Holt's embarrassment, under the circum 
stances, was painful. 

Private Johnson of Company K, Pri\'ate Wilcox and 
Private Newman of Company F were accepted without dela\- 
and the trial proceeded 

Witnesses were then sworn by Clerk Shea and were put 
through a rigid examination by the attorneys, Privates 



US2 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

Dresser and Holmes of Company F appearing in behalf of the 
prisoner. Those called by the government were Privates 
Calvocoresses and Owen and Corporal Jones of Company F 
and Private "Sober-Whiskey" of Company K. T^or the 
defense Privates Pettys, Gooding, Carroll and Quarter-master 
Sergeant F. A. Seidler. all of Company F appeared. Some of 
the testimony sworn to by the witnesses was startling in the 
extreme. For instance, there was evidence going to show 
that profane words frequently were heard issuing from the 
prisoner's tent, but the accused proved that he had begun to 
stud}' for the Christian ministry and that the words used were 
extracts from the Bible which he had incorporated into his 
sermons which he freqently committed to memory and de- 
claimed in the solitude of his tent. 

Judge Advocate Walsh — " Your honors, I obi'ect to this 
testimony. I have looked through the Bible carefully from 
Genesis through Chronicles to St. John and I fail to find any 
such words in the Bible as the prisoner has used." 

Then ensued a tilt oetween the lawyers which the court 
was compelled to put an end to. The marshal, during the 
examination of the accused, was frequently compelled to rap 
for order and instruct his assistant marshals, Sergeant 
De Lamater of Company K and Corporal Ackerman of Com- 
pany F, to clear the court room if any further disorder occurred. 

The testimon)' in regard to the disturbance at the hospital 
tent was rather conflicting. One witness swore six men were 
sick in the tent, but on cross-examination the number of sick 
men was reduced to two. 

" But )"ou said six." 

" Xo, I said the men were sick, not six," answered the 
witness. 

Here the official stenographers. Privates Wheelock and 
Cadwell of Company K, were called upon to read from their 
notes in order to make tlie matter clear to the court and iur\-. 

" The witness said there were men in the tent sick." 

" How man\-? " 

" Six, but not all sick." 



CTIROXOLOGICAL. 1 83 

When the testimony was all in arguments were made and 
considerable eloquence and legal ability was brought out. 
Reference was made to the results of the surgeon's examination 
at Niantic, co which all present were subjected, and Attorney 
Dresser claimed that not only his client was found deficient 
but that certain members of the court were likewise under 
the standard if they were only honest enough to acknowl- 
edge it. 

" I object to this remark," exclaimed Judge Advocate 
Walsh jumping to his feet and dropping hi? glasses in his ex- 
citement. " It is a reflection on the honorable judges on the 
bench." 

Each of the three judges glanced sharply at the others but 
one finally responded, " The court is conscious of no reflec- 
tions cast upon it by an}- one." 

The case was then given to the jury and a verdict of guilty 
was rendered in four minutes after retiring to the jury room. 
The sentence of the court was that the prisoner be compelled 
to sing and dance before the entire audience present. He did 
so, singing "America " and dancing to the tune of " God Save 
the Queen" and the court thereupon adjourned. 

During the trial Dog-Robber Molloy entered the court 
room and took a front seat, evidently anxious to see if the 
accused would be dealt with in the manner to which he him- 
self had so recently been subjected. Hardh' had he taken his 
seat before Clerk Shea asked that he be excluded from the 
spectators' seats and Molloy was accordingly placed under 
guard of Private John B. Knox and removed to the rear of the 
room. 

This letter explains itself: 

To the Editor of the Courant: — 

Dear Sir — In your issue of June i you speak of the 
terrible condition in which Private Bill Case and Corporal 
Pierce were found by G — e T — ra, and we both wish our many 
friends and creditors to relieve their minds about any 
possibility of either of us cashing in our checks at this stage 
of the game. 



1 84 



CHROXOLOGICAL. 



The fact of the matter was that we had been on guard the 
night before in a hard rain and as some one had borrowed our 
umbrellas we were slightl\- moist when George did his " peek- 
ing." Everybody here knows how he goes around after some- 
thing to eat and he had us go to the farmer's house because he 
knew we had had a box sent us and he wanted to get us out 
of the way so he could go through it. He did. 



V 



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Asiie *?at' ■^'- t^ 




PRIVATE MORLEV RETURNING HIS CONXECTICl'T I>AV. 

S. (i. Huntington. Fisher. Gillette. Gruener. 
Fuller. Del.amater. McKennoy. Ward. Morley. 

Will you kindly state that we both have our lungs still 
intact and do not expect to head a slow procession for some 
time to come. 

Your!}- trul}', 

PlKRCE .\ND C.\SE. 

Saturd.W, June 4. Heavy rain, no morning roll call 
nor drills during the day. Began clearing about 2 p. m., came 
off cool at night with a fine moon. At dress parade the 
officers were fifteen minutes late but the\' <jot no call down for it. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. I 85 

Sunday, June 5. Fine sun rise and cool breezes. 
Went in swimming with Privates Tinkham and VVolcott. 
About twenty-five members of the two companies attended 
the Universahst Church this afternoon. 

Monday, June 6. Another fine day. The sergeants 
began drilHng the company. This afternoon fine photographs 
of both the company and the battalion were taken. The 
two companies are fast becoming "one and inseparable." The 
" miners and sappers" began leveling the street and removing 
the rocks. Rain again this evening and during the night. 

Tuesday, June 7. Again a fine day. The two com- 
panies marched over to Portland Head to-day, doing out-post 
duty. Pa\-master Keeney arrived in camp and at 6.30, we each 
received our camp pay due from the State of Connecticut for 
the thirteen days at Niantic before we were mustered into the 
U. S. service. We privates received $16.56, ten days at $1.50 
a day and three days at fifty-two cents a day. Private Morley 
was so disgruntled at the treatment he had so far received, in 
not being sent to the front, that he refused to accept any pay 
from the State of Connecticut and accordingly returned his 
pay to Paymaster Keeney by money order. 

Wednesday, June 8. An early morning experience is 
told in another letter home: 

"The letter last night I had to close hurriedly but to-day I 
am on guard so I have plenty of time. We must remain at 
guard quarters all the time, except one and one-half hours 
during the twenty-four, and guard duty comes around once in 
five days now. But I must tell you of a little experience I had 
this morning while on guard. I had been asleep about two 
hours when the corporal of the guard shook me lightl\- by the 
arm and said " Come." I thought it strange he let all the 
others alone, but crawled out, half awake, and shook what 
straw off me I could. It was 4.15 a. m. and broad daylight 
but there was no one else stirring. 

" Company F's cook went over to Portland last night when 
he got his pay" said the corporal " and has not shown up since. 
He was last seen at the Caldwell House. His name is Moun- 
tain. Go over to Portland and find him." I started without 











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1 88 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

another word but had not gone far before I could not tell for 
the life of me whether it was Caldwell of the Mountain House 
or Mountain of the Caldwell House or House of ^Mountain Cald- 
well I must inquire for. At the ferry landing, a mile distant, the 
watchman told me the ferry would not be running for over an 
hour. Down the shore, a short distance, I saw a man tugging 
away trying to get his boat out between some rocks where the 
tide had left it and I went for him. He would take me over if 
he could get his boat out and after combining our strength for 
a time the boat slid out into the water. The boat leaked 
some and the fog was so thick that after a little rowing we lost 
sight of either shore, with the tide running out to sea. 

" How are you getting along over there," asked the old 
man, trying to be sociable. " I had four years of it and know 
a little something myself about it." I began to open my eyes 
and look interested. 

" Yes, I started in at Williamsburg and have got four 
bullets in me now, besides a saber slash across the knee." M}^ 
interest increased to concern. An old man, so overloaded 
with bullets, was no sort of a man to be with in a leaky boat. 
But the bell of the monitor Montauk soon sounded out in the 
fog, the old man got his bearings and he soon landed me on 
the Portland side. I asked him his price. 

" O, I shan't charge you fellows an)-thing. The fact is, 
I crawled out of bed this morning without waking up the old 
woman and came over just to get a drink, that's all." 

The Caldwell House I found about a mile from the dock 
and went in. No one was up but soon a female voice out near 
the kitchen asked what was wanted. I told her and she soon 
appeared and went to another room where the proprietor 
slept. When he could get his thoughts together, he re- 
membered going out to get a hack for two soldiers about 10.30 
the night before but what the hack driver's name was or where 
he lived he could not tell. He described the hack driver's 
appearance ami I went to another hotel near the hack 
stand ami finalh' found his name and residence, after 
describing him as best I could, lie lived about one and 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



189 



one-half miles from the hotel and as no trolleys were yet 
running I walked. 

Approaching the house I first woke up the dog in the 
barn. He woke up a boy who came out and went back and 
woke up his mother. She came out, went back, woke up the 
hack driver who finally called me in to his bed room. 

" That man I left over at the camp this morning just 
before 4 o'clock," he said. Then I wanted to call down every 
one concerned. The man had probably crawled into some 




CASCO liAV MERMAIDS. 
H. L Huntington. Walsh. Eno. Dwyer. Thayer. 



Barrows. Sh"a. 

tent, gone right to sleep and couldn't be found. I got back to 
camp just in time for breakfast." 

At a meeting of the company to-night it was voted, after 
some objection, to assess each member $2.56 for the incidental 
expenses of the camp. Privates Gruener and Thayer collected 
from those who were willing to pay and turned the money over 
to Sergeant Beebe, taking receipts. Heavy thunder storm and 
rain all night. 

Thursday, June 9. This morning after " kerosene " 
(calisthenics) fifteen members of the company went in 



I go CHRONOLOGICAL. 

swimming. Warmest day yet. Private Marvel, while asleep 
in his tent, had his face blacked and was then waked up and told 
to report to the captain. The captain didn't appear to enjoy the 
joke but every one else did, even Private Marvel, when he saw 
himself in a mirror. Colonel Burdett and the remnant of the 
regiment start for Fort Knox to-day. 

Friday, June io. The swimming squads are increasing, 
both companies sending big delegations to the rocks every 
day now. This letter explains itself: 

" One of the funniest fads swept through K street to-day 
that it has ever experienced. Had a cyclone struck the camp 
it would not have made greater changes in the faces of the men 
and had a second cyclone followed the first, a few hours later, 
it would not have blown through the whiskers of a single man 
in the street. There wasn't any to blow through. 

It started like this: Quartermaster Sergeant Beebe shaved 
his mustache off the night before, making such a change in his 
appearance as to cause universal comment in the company. 
But this unauthorized act of his would not have resulted 
disastrously to the company had not First Sergeant Hunting- 
ton, in a moment of indiscretion, challenged Private Thayer to 
follow in the lead of Beebe. He is small, but the shortest 
man in the company is taking no such stunts unnoticed 
and so, just before dinner, he appeared minus his mustache 
and goatee. 

With scissors and razor in hand, two or three men next 
appeared before Sergeant De Lamater's tent and the careful 
nursing and handsome growth of two years fell under the 
blade in as many minutes. Next Corporal Silvcrnail was per- 
suaded to make his face as smooth as is the top c( his head 
and Privates Bassctt, Campbell and Nunan soon after sur- 
rendered, adding immensely to the ranks of the beardless 
soldiers. The number of pale-faces (for the clean shaven 
portions stood out in marked contrast to the sunburnt areas) 
increased hourly and Corporal Wheeler was the first to resist 
the crowd that went fVc^m tent to tent. His resistance, how- 
ever, was only temporary and when Sergeant Huntington 



CHRONOLOGICAL. IQI 

joined the ranks of the pale-faces, " Cy " submitted and allowed 
the scissors to snap their jaws in front of his upper lip. 

" Where is Private Gruener? " began to be asked. lie 
had consistently worn a full beard from the first day of enlist- 
ment and had kept the growth of a dozen years always nicely 
trimmed. His sudden disappearance, so soon after the craze 
started, was soon explained. A shout was given that could 
have been heard over to The Head when a bald head, closely 
cropped hair and a large smooth face, fresh from the barber, 
appeared at the lower end of the street. Not half of the men 
in the company knew Private Gruener in his new make-up. 
Then everybody started for " Billy" Low, Gruener's tent mate, 
and for a time the air was full of slashing razors and snapping 
scissors. Private Low made a bluff of rushing out upon the 
parade ground to play b.dl, but the crowd followed him, every 
minute growing more savage. Low started to run, but when 
the crowd did the same he threw up his hands and returned to 
his tent, coming out in a few minutes as pale as the rest. 

Artificer Rowland was the only man to make open and 
armed resistance, but his arms were soon in the grasp of strong 
men and the scissors soon got in their painless but deadly work 
on his delicate down. 

Musician Camp set up the defense that he could not 
execute the calls properly with a smooth lip, but the order was 
issued that he be allowed the assistance of his mustache at 
parade to-night for the last time. He was put upon his honor 
to remove it immediately after. This he did. 

Sergeant Boniface and Privates Judson, Denison, F. R., 
Henderson, Fuller, Marvel, Rathbun. Case, W. O.. Root, 
Ripley and Wolcott were also among those who fell under the 
steel. Private Oviatt had just produced a fine mustache and 
goatee, but the unwritten law of K unanimity could not be 
ignored. Schults was the last, but his beard fell just as the 
sun went down. The next morning, at roll call, of the seventy- 
seven men in the company, all but those in the hospital 
appeared with smooth faces. Such is another of the terrible 
results of this remarkable war. At dress parade the captain 



19^ 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



could not single any one man out for being slow, we looked 
so much alike, so no one got called down. 

When it is re-called that half of the men in the company, 
when they swore allegiance to the United States, also asserted 
their intention of growing a full beard in the service of their 
country, this assault upon the beards is a complete right- 
about-face." 

A Portland paper has this : 

"The officers and men at Camp lUirdett continue to be the 
recipients of marked attention from the society people of the 
town. A social function of last week worthy of special note 
was the home dinner given the officers by Mrs. \V. T. Studley. 
The rooms were decorated with ferns, potted plants, etc., while 
the table was laden with choicest flowers contained in cut glass 
for center pieces. The party consisted of Captains Newton and 
Saunders and Lieutenants Smith, Valentine, Waterman and 
Ripley, Miss Hattie Davis, Miss Lou Knight, Mr. and Mrs. C. 
A. Studley; also Mr. and Mrs. John E. Fisher, who have just 
returned from their wedding trip, and Captain and Mrs. W. T. 
Studley. A six course dinner was served at 7 o'clock and a 
musical given in the evening and the affair was very enjoyable, 
especially to the gentlemanly officers to whom these social 
junctions are now doubh- welcome." 

S.vrUKD.W, June ii. Inspection of quarters and equip- 
ments this morning in the rain. Later, with Private Nunan, I 
went over to the fort and drew rations, after considerable 
waiting around. Then we got a team and brought over a load 
of old wood for the kitchen. Lieutenant Valentine and 
Sergeant Beebe left for Hartford to-night to do some recruit- 
ing. The devil seems to be to pay all round to-night. 
Corporal Carroll and Private Walsh had a long and interesting 
discussion over a certain hat belonging to Walsh. Private 
Knox had an eruption of lobster and beer, much to the discom- 
fort of Private Cadwell. Sergeants Holt and De Lamater came 
back to camp late and in the best of spirits and the Portland 
papers give an account of a little shooting aftair over by the 
f<M-t just before dark which will soon be forgotten. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 193 

Sunday, June 12. Some thirty men from both com- 
panies attended services, conducted by the Rev. Mr. Lon^ of 
the Bethany Congregational church, on the rocks near the 
parade grounds. I went on guard to-day. Was No. 6 man, at 
the officers' quarters. In view of the increasing number of 
callers at headquarters the following special order for this post 
was found necessary: "To keep out all civilians or crinoline 
not cased." This order was transmitted from one relief to 
another during the entire twenty-four hours. There was 
another ripping thunder shower this afternoon. Here is 
a short letter extract: 

" A large hall near by is open for dancing every night or 
whenever the musicians can be brought together. We have a 
fine violinist in our company and there is a piano in the hall. 
This hall is open to the men at all times. To-night our cooks, 
Privates McGrath and Scharper, gave us a fine spread in this 
hall at their own expense. Strawberry short cake, ham, 
bologna, cake, biscuits, cheese, cup cakes, coffee, milk, cigars, 
etc., etc., were some of the things set before us. I sometimes 
wish we were farther away from civilization. As it is now we 
are neither in camp, as at Niantic, nor at the front. We know, 
as yet, nothing of real war. Bad rum and mean women are 
both abundant. But I am content and more and more glad 
that I am a private. The non-com's life here is not a pleasant 
one. 

Your letters are mighty welcome, even if there is no 
special news. The happiest time in the day is when Sergeant 
Huntington calls out the names of those who have letters. 

The people of the Congregational Church here are going 
to give us a " feed " this week. The storm has passed and we 
expect a pleasant night. 

The other day (we have the next day off after being on 
guard) a few of us took the "cliff walk" to Portland Head. 
It will compare favorably with the Newport walk, only the 
cottages along the cliff cannot be spoken of in the same breath 
with those at Newport. 

It is nearly time to go out on guard again so must stop." 



194 CIIROXOLOGICAL. 

Monday, June 13. At parade to-nii^ht Special Order 
No. 3 was read. No enlisted man can hereafter visit the can- 
teen unless accompanied by a non-com. All fire-arms must 
be surrendered to the officer. No female visitors will be 
allowed in the men's tents. Swearing by the men is forbidden. 
The company is to be divided into squads and each non-com. 
will be held responsible for the conduct of his men. 

TUESD.W, June 14. Heavy rain during the night and 
early morning. This forenoon I distributed a quantity of 
papers and periodicals among both companies. These were 
furnished through the kindness of John W. Barbour of the 
Portland Press who lives near the camp. Both yesterday and 
to-day the prisoners were employed in digging out the founda- 
tion for a new sink — a much needed improvement, for the 
boxes in the barn have become disgracefully foul. Part of the 
police work of the old guard to-day was burying the large 
stones scattered about the parade grounds. Members of 
Company F have raised a pole and at retreat the flag, a little 
one for a cent, is lowered with all the ceremony imaginable, 
the members in the meantime singing " The Star Spangled 
Banner." Two bowling teams have been organized and the 
score to date is very close. Johnson's team, consisting of 
Corporal Johnson and Privates Johnson, Marion, Hollis and 
Cannon, have made a score of 1865 and Corporal Pierce's team, 
including himself. Corporals Campbell and Dwyer and Privates 
W. O. Case and Ward, have run up iSii points so far. The 
Portland paper says this : 

"We must not forget to speak of the bowling team, named 
after Major Schulze, the members of which are all crack 
players, who are ready to meet all comers. Tlie team is 
neatly uniformed with crimson sweaters, on the breast of which 
is a design in white of two bowling pins, connected with a 
scroll and the name of the team worked across in blue letters." 
Nearly half the company are also wearing neat white sweaters, 
when off dut}-. 

Wkdnesdav, JrxK 15. High collars have begun to 
show themselves above the blue blouses, at dress parade and 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



195 



after. Mr. Barbour built some shelves for the library in the 
hospital tent to-day. This evening the two companies took 
the trolley for Portland and were the guests of the Congress 
Street Universalists Society. Light refreshments were served 
in the church parlors and the men were entertained with songs 
and recitations. The return was made at i i p. m. 

Thursday, June 16. High collars have been called in. 
Orders were issued that none could be worn at dress parade. 



SWEATER SECTION. 



(^ 






<r*^ 



'^ 







En... 


.Miui.iu. 


Vilx-it 


F>i\ aiu. 


W. 0. Case. 


Cannon. 


M<Kone. 


PoUer. 


Holt. 


CurroU 


Shea. 


iSanderson. 


Hollis. 


Wheelock. 


F. M. Johnson. 


Briijham. 


F. E. Denison. 


Gillette. 


Appletoii. 


Woicott. 


Camp. 


Nunan. 


Dickinson. 


C.idwell. 



Privates Bassett and Thayer, with a similiar detail from Com- 
pany F, went down to the shore and pulled a cart load of sea 
weed for the clam bake to-morrow. On the way back from 
Portland to-night, where I had been with Mr. Barbour to hear 
" Martha," a horse was struck by the trolley car preceding 
the one Private Scharper and I were on. After several men 
had unsuccessfully tried to kill the suffering horse by mauling 



196 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

him to death with an axe, Scharper, with one well directed 
blow on the forehead, put the poor animal out of his misery. 
Lieutenant Harding of the regular army, a }'oung sprig of an 
ofificer, was on the car and took occasion to show his authority 
when some of our men were disputing with the conductor 
about their car fare. 

Friday, June 17. The two companies marched over to 
the fort to-night and gave a fine dress parade on the lawn, 
much to the surprise of the so-called regulars. The\^ are not 
in it with us, on such an occasion. The prisoners were re- 
leased from the guard house to-night. For supper the two com- 
panies had one hundred and fift}' lobsters, six bushels of 
clams, two bushel of potatoes, brown and r\'e bread, forty 
dozen of eggs and all the coffee we could drink. How is that 
for a clam bake ? 

Saturday, June 18. Police detail dug a walk to the 
officer's quarters to-day. Two more members of the company 
were sent to the guard house, this time for going over to Port- 
land without passes. Mr. Brooks took Privates Bassett, Shea, 
and myself over to the Two Lights and Bowery Beach this 
afternoon, a delightful ride of four or fi\-e miles along the coast 
to the Life Saving station. The recruits arrived in camp 
to-night and slept in the hall. 

Sunday, June 19. Lots of fun this morning with the 
recruits. Corporal Dwyer and Privates Cannon, Walsh, 
Piddock, Brigham and Converse put them through the guard 
mount, detailed some for orderlies, posted others down b\' the 
old well and kept them busy for an hour. At 9 the genuine 
guard mount was held in a driving rain which continued all 
day and late into the night. Captain Saunders left for Hart- 
ford to-night. Here is a startling newspaper extract: 

"John Boniface, son of George C. Boniface, is at the front 
in active service at Fort Preble. He is a sergeant in Company 
K, 1st Regular Connecticut X^olunteers, and the other night 
directed the firing upon an iMiglish vessel believed to be a 
Spaniard." 

This is !n\' Sundax* Irttrr bonic : 



CHRONOLOGICAI,. I97 

" It may seem strange to you to know that this is the first 
moment I have had to myself since we left Hartford, May 4. 
Every day there is so much to do or so much going on that I 
have to read The Courant hurriedly and some days, as yester- 
day, I don't get a chance to see it at all. But to-day it is rain- 
ing and my three tent mates are away and the camp is almost 
deserted, so I rather like it for a change. It has given me a 
chance to read those clippings without interruption. Out of 
seventy-seven men but four have The Courant regularly and so 
mine goes the rounds every day. It seems very fitting that 
the two heroes, so far, Dewey and Hobson, should come one 
from the North and one from the South. 

I have made myself solid with the cook on several 
occasions and always get an extra ration if I am very hungry, 
in return. Thursday with three others I went down to the shore 
a short distance away and pulled off about a cart load of sea 
weed and carried it up out of the way of the tide. The next 
day the weeds were brought up to camp and one hundred and 
seventy men sat down to a regular Rhode Island clam bake — 
one hundred and fifty lobsters, six bushels of clams, forty dozen 
eggs, two bushels potatoes, brown bread, etc. Perhaps the 
men didn't eat ! 

Yesterday I had the day to myself, as I came off guard at 
9 a. m., and was invited by a neighbor to take a ride, with two 
others of K. We went out to Cape Elizabeth, six miles, 
where there is a life saving station, signal station, and two light 
houses. We caught over sixty good size cunners in about an 
hour and brought back dead loads of tender young winter- 
green for the boys. 

The other evening another neighbor, a newspaper man, 
took me over to see " Martha " at the Jefferson theatre, in 
Portland. It was fine but during a part of it I could scarcely 
keep awake. I go to sleep at any time, anywhere, in church 
or out calling on the neighbors, at the slightest provocation, 
I suppose it is the out door life that is fast fitting me for 
nothing else. My tent mates still stick to their thin and humpy 
straw mattresses but I have fixed up a raised bunk and now 
sleep on the bare boards. It is just great. 










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CIIROXOLUGICAL. 1 99 

If I can get time I will have some cheap photo's taken 
while my face is smooth. My upper lip is too tender to keep 
shaving long. The boys call me the commandant of the 
swimming squads, for lately wc have been in off the rocks 
once or twice a day. The water is still so cold it makes our 
legs ache to stay in longer than to just duck under but the 
tonic of the salt freshens us up wonderfully. 

There is one thing about John's letters which are to his 
credit — be does not kick at a thing at Camp Cuba Libre. 
When I read Poultney Bigelow's criticisms and some of the 
private letters from Tampa and Chickamauga and see the 
amount of kicking indulged in, I was proud to find John was, 
to that extent, a good soldier. We have just a few of the 
kicking kind. One, a Yale student from Michigan, is so dis- 
gusted with the treatment of Connecticut troops that he 
refused to accept his Niantic camp pay and returned it to 
Paymaster Keeney with his reasons. He is going to be trans- 
ferred to one of the regiments from his own state now at Tampa. 

President McKinley, Alger, Long, Miles, Shafter and the 
rest, down to the junior line ofificer at South Portland or Bucks- 
port, Maine, are all doing their best. I believe, and I think the 
man who, by word of mouth or by scratch of his pen, makes 
their work the harder, by his criticism, to that extent gives aid 
and comfort to the enemies of his own country and to that 
extent is a traitor." 

To this letter I should explain that "John" is a nephew 
of mine in General Lee's corps. It is curious that he, too, 
mentions in his letter to me the necessity of salt petre in the 
coffee, even in that enervating climate. 

Monday, June 20. Camp fire on the beach near Mr. 
Barbour's house to-night. Private Gruener entertained with 
some more of his " home made wine." Sergeant H. L. Hunt- 
ington, Corporals Silvernail and Wheeler and Privates Low, 
Barrows and Thayer were present but later, not accountable. 
Corporal Wheeler afterwards was ordered to his tent by Private 
Webster to avoid his getting a call down from the officer of 
the day. The corporal gave the private one look and then did 



200 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

just as he was told to do. Private Thayer's tent mates also 
say he came home from the be?ch feeling, as he told his tent 
mates while trying, with some difficulty, to get his trousers off, 
"just sill}'." 

Here is another Sunday letter: 

"The cold driving rain outside and in (for the tent leaks 
badly) makes me content with the thought that, cold and dis- 
agreeable as it is, Spain thus far has not made it ver\' hot for 
those boys you saw march up Main Street that day. Ever 
since the Civil War I have occasionally dreamt of being in 
battle, close to the enem}' and in a position to do great 
execution but never have I succeeded in getting hold of any 
ammunition with which to load my gun. That was always 
missing and consequently I was often very much embarrassed 
and usually expressed my uneasiness so emphatically as to 
wake myself up. The nearest those dreams have come to 
being true is this — once in five days, on going out on guard, I 
am given, with each of the other sentinels, five ball cartridges 
to put in my belt. These cartridges we are ordered not to 
remove from the belt under any consideration. We put them 
in our belts just for effect, you see, just to make that Cadiz 
fleet afraid and you will notice that since we took up our 
present commanding position on Prospect Hill, that fleet has 
turned tail and sailed off through the Mediterranean. In com- 
puting the difference in time I find, also, that they set sail a 
few minutes after I went out on guard here for the first time, a 
few nights ago. The putting of these five ball cartridges into 
our belts every five days and then taking them out again, is our 
nearest approach, thus far, to war. 

On the other hand we are, in fact, having a good outing, 
some discomforts when it rains but no hardships. With the 
trolley close by, running to theatres at Portland and Port- 
land Head, on either side, with good surf bathing, good view 
of one of the finest harbors in the world, aqueduct water to 
drink, good food and a variety of it to eat, just drilling enough 
to make us sleep well — what more could wc ask or expect. 
How much better off are we than thousands of others and yet. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 2ol 

there are a few kickers here who want to go liome or go 
to Cuba. But that is not my idea of a soldier — to kick 
because he is not sent to the front. I am content to be here 
and willing to go elsewhere without a murmur." 

A Portland paper says this of the recruits : 

" A batch of recruits arrived at Camp Burdett a few days 
ago and of course they had to take the initiatory degree in 
order to become good soldiers. If some of the recruits who 
took the degree are only as conscientious about obeying the 
orders of their superior officers as they were the orders issued 
to them at that time there will be no better soldiers in the field. 

One of the new recruits was put on guard over two wells 
in the vicinity of the camp a few days since and given strict 
orders to let no one touch the water, not even the owner of the 
wells, as it was feared that Spanish spies were in the vicinity 
and the water might be poisoned. The recruit did not see it 
in the light of a joke the boys were playing on him, but took 
his gun and paced back and forth for nearly two hours before 
being relieved and when the owner of the wells came out for 
some water drove him away. He said he was obeying orders 
and no one could get any water there while he was on guard. 
He was finally relieved from duty. 

Another recruit was stationed down the road with orders 
to search all passing teams for contraband goods and stuck to 
his post for some time, searching several teams, the owners of 
which tumbled to the joke and helped in carrying it out, until 
the " guard " finally stopped an old farmer who refused to 
allow his team to be searched and laid his whip about the 
shoulders of the recruit until he ran for quarters. The recruit 
at last smelled a mouse. He said nothing, however, but 
watched his chance to laugh at some other victim. 

One recruit felt highly honored a few evenings ago in 
being selected as "orderly" for "Lieutenant" Thayer of 
Company K who really ranks as private, but is one of the 
jolliest and best natured fellows in the camp. George looked 
out of his tent and found his orderly stationed in front 
ready to receive all orders and make himself generally useful. 
14 



202 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

Thaj'cr kept his end of the joke up and every man who came 
down the company street, and there were plenty of them, had 
urgent business with " Lieutenant" Thayer, which kept the poor 
orderly quite busy. He was finally given the "Lieutenant's" 
private countersign, " Jack in the box," and no one who didn't 
have this pass word was allowed to enter. 

Another guard was stationed in front of the first sergeant's 
tent and he was kept inside a prisoner until a corporal came 
and relieved the guard." 

Tuesday, June 21. General Hawley's despatch in the 
paper says we go South or to Camp Alger soon. Private 
Barrows, whose mustache is the only one remaining in 
the company, showed fight to-day when it was suggested that 
he would look better to appear like the rest of us. He 
guarded his tent from the inside with his bayonet and made 
threats but without avail. The men went in, he came out and 
his mustache came off. The shears did not do a very good job 
and the trimming was omitted. Swimming without trunks on 
the beach has been prohibited. Mr. Barbour's brother was 
married to-night and a number of the men attended the 
wedding. 

Wednesday, June 22. The cruiser, " Badger," came 
into the harbor to-day. Another dress parade at the fort 
to-night. 

Thursday, June 23. Lumber has come and new floors 
are being laid in the tents. This has kept the men busy with 
pick and shovel, leveling off the ground in the tents. Our tent 
has a piazza, the first one in the street. Another court martial 
was held to-night. Private F. C. Burnell was accused of theft, 
swearing and fighting. The jury consisted of Corporal Camp- 
bell and Privates McKone, W. O. Case, Sanderson, Bassett and 
Humphrey. ShcrifT Pierce and Deputies Converse and \V. H. 
Brown preserved order in court. The judges were Privates 
Thayer, Hall and Gillett. The fighting, it was shown in evidence, 
occurred down on the ball grounds back of the barn early this 
morning and Private Morlcy was the other part}' in interest. 
The accused was found guilt\', of course, and the sentence of 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



JO3 



the court was that the hair on one side of his head only should 
be chpped close, leaving it long and luxuriant on the other 
side. The execution of the sentence was duly performed and 
the public was then allowed to pass by in single file and view the 
remains. 

Friday, June 24. It is said that when Private Burnell 
appeared before the post surgeon this morning for treatment 




WORKING FOR THKIR COMMISSIONS. 
DeL-niiater. Holt. 

and removed his hat, the old soldier almost had a fit at the 

sight of that quarter section of bald, white scalp. 

" Claim your laundry, boys, get your laundry." 

At 6 p. m. the battalion marched over to the armory in 

Portland and sat down to a fine spread in the basement. 

Later, music and dancing were enjoyed in the armory above 



204 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

and the men were loihe to leave at 1 1. This entertaiment was 
given us b\' the Sons of Veterans. 

A Portland paper has this, ever\' word of which is true 
and shows how good the people of Maine are to us : 

" Quite a large party from the Universalist Church, headed 
by Mr. H. H. King, visited Camp Burdett Tuesday evening to 
witness the ceremony of dress parade. It was incidentally 
remarked to Mr. King that the new recruits which have just 
arrived at the camp were not provided with blankets, etc., as 
sufficient time had not elapsed to get action on the requisitions 
for camp equipage which had been forwarded to department 
headquarters, — and in fact there were none on hand in the 
quartermaster's department at Fort Preble. Wednesday 
evening an express wagon drove to the camp loaded with com- 
forters, blankets and mattresses which most thoughtfull\' had 
been furnished by Mr. King for the use of these new men. 
The ofificcrs and men were highly appreciative of this kindness 
and doubtless would be glad to receive more bedding of the 
same sort to meet the wants of recruits who are arriving daih' 
and who cannot be supplied by the post quartermaster until 
the articles of bedding are received from the goverment depot, 
which of course will take more or less time. 

The State Secretary of the Christain Endeavor Societ\- 
has just put up a tent at Camp l^urdett where reading matter 
will be sent. It will also afford a convenient place for corres- 
pondence, being supplied with writing tables, etc." 

This is what the papers said of the reception : 

"A pleasant informal reception and dance was tendered the 
Connecticut Volunteers of the U. S. Army now located at 
Portland Head, last evening at the Auditorium, b)- the Ladies' 
Aid Society of Shepley Camp, S. of V., assisted b}' the mem- 
bers of the camp and invited guests. The Connecticut bo}'s 
were met upon their arrix-al at Portlaiul Pier and were escorted to 
the basement of the auditorium where supper was in waiting 
for them. The guests were welcomed by the chairman of the 
committee, Miss Mar\- I'rince. 

Dancing was enjo)'ed during the e\'ening." 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 205 

Saturday, June 25. At company drill this morning 
only two fours showed up, so great ha\c been the losses 
occasioned by the recent festivities. This afternoon a game of 
ball between the Fort Preble nine and one picked up in our 
battalion resulted in a victory for our nine, 14 to 2. Our 
battery was Privates Marion and Robbins. The two prisoners 
recently confined in the guard quarters were welcomed back to 
the street again to-night. The boys bothered Private Marvel's 
tent some to-night by firing things into it. Among the things 
were the contents of a box he had recently received from 
home. " There comes my ham," he exclaimed when he 
recognized that article coming in. Private Wolcott, it is said, 
fell into a hole to-night while on guard at Post No. 6. 

Sunday, June 26. We celebrated the first day of the 
new week by opening the new sinks to public use. The 
company is now represented in the guard quarters by a single 
member, one who preferred the guard house to doing guard 
duty. Clam chowder for dinner. It was fine. Four sergeants, 
the two Huntingtons, Boniface and DeLamater. went out row- 
ing to-day and visited the training ship, " Enterprise," now 
lying in the harbor. It is said that one of the sergeants did 
not prove a good sailor and during the entire trip his courage 
sank in proportion as the waves rose. Mr. Brooks took 
Privates Walsh, Shea and myself over to Two Lights this after- 
noon. Private Johnson was accidentally struck over the eye 
with a scabbard in his tent and was knocked senseless for a 
time. For two nights the camp has been so overrun with 
mosquitoes that sleep has been practically out of the question. 
The much talked of "mosquito fleet" must have been ordered 
to rendezvous off Portland and all hands must have come 
ashore to mess. 

Monday, June 27. Rumors are rife that we are to take 
part in the Porto Rico campaign. This evening Private 
Bassett gave a little spread at Mr. Jordan's house — lobster, hot 
biscuit and lemonade. I was on guard at Post No. 6 but 
Private Potter offered to relieve me for an hour or so. Among 
the others there were Corporals Pierce, Campbell and Sil\-ernail 



206 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

and Privates Pattison, Nunan, Shea, W. O. Case, Eno. 
McKone, Camp and Private Richardson of F. 

Tuesday, June 28. At 3 o'clock this morning when I 
went to relieve No. 6 man, he was found sound asleep on the 
veranda of the officer's quarters. He has now gone to the guard 
house. He was an F man. The recruits were put on guard to- 
day. An Indian concert was given to-night by Privates Tinkham, 
Camp, Walsh, R. A. Case and Knox and during the perform- 
ance the tent came down on them. The rumors of our Porto 
Rico expedition to-night were such as to cause the men of the 
whole battalion to yell with delight. 

Here is another letter home, of even date : 

" That telegram of Senator Hawlc}' I think created more 
stir in Hartford than here. While we are read}' for anything, 
everything indicates we are to stay here for the summer, at 
least. New floors are being put in our tents, new uniforms 
will be issued to us in a few days, Lake Sebago water has been 
introduced into our camp, a new sink has been built and all we 
hear points in the same direction. Surely if we were going 
South the new uniforms suitable for this region would be 
deadly in the South and have to be discarded at once. But all 
these signs may go for naught. Still, so far no mistakes have 
been made in this war, (no Bull Run has yet occurred) and I 
have firm faith that none are going to be. 

It's curious how toughened a man gets in this atmosphere 
of semi-warfare. The first man to go to the guard house at 
Niantic set us all thinking, but now some one of our company 
is there all the time and yet we think nothing of it. This is partly 
the result of more rigid discipline (which I like) but gradualh' 
things of this kind are taken as a matter of course. I don't 
know how we should feci under fire, but 1 imagine in a short 
time we should get toughened to an\-thing. You see already 
how the first few men to get killed had their obituaries in full 
in all the papers — yet this last scrap near Santiago was not 
followed by a full list even of the killed and wounded, let alone 
giving each one an obituar\' notice. So it will go. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 20/ 

Those clippings are to the point and that about the 
American soldier particularly so. The private in modern 
warfare is more than ever a thinking machine and he must be 
so from necessity. Formerly elbow touched elbow and each 
man's nerve helped to nerve up his next in line. I*lach acted 
as part of a compact whole and was swept along with it. 
But now a private goes forward practically as an individual, 
dependent entirely upon himself and his own nerve. It is to a 
great extent, guerrilla warfare, hiding behind trees, stone walls, 
etc. Instead of touching his comrade's elbow, now they are 
ten or twelve feet apart and several times that distance from any 
officer. Being thus thrown back upon himself, the American 
soldier will prove superior to any from the fact that the 
day of machine soldiers is past. 

You mention rheumatism — wh)-, the new setting up 
exercises we have every morning and the daily swims are 
putting me in fine shape. I can touch my fingers to the 
ground with stiff knees and keep them there, all right. I must 
be about twelve pounds lighter than I was. We all shave for 
the last time, July 4, when we go over to Portland for parade. 

Thursday we had a fine time over there, as the enclosed 
will indicate. The supper was great and greatly to be praised. 

The thermometer here has been up to 90 once, but the 
breeze always makes living under canvas easily bearable. The 
mosquitoes struck camp two nights ago and have made sleep a 
matter of setting up exercise. 

My three tent mates — all things considered are the pick of 
the company. One is a graduate of Princeton, another of Am- 
herst and these two act like two great, big, good-natured New- 
foundland dogs together. They call each other down in great 
shape but neither cares for what the other says. They have never 
developed their bump of order during their course of study at 
Hosmer Hall and consequently they spend a good deal of their 
time looking for their things, such as collars, handkerchiefs, 
pipes, matches, etc. They each have a good sized box they 
tiy to keep their things in, but their eftorts end in complete 
failure, always. The other mate is somewhat more orderly and 



208 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

as all three are very glad to have me fix up the tent and 
straighten out things occasionally, the tent usually presents a 
very fair appearance. My things I manage to keep in my 
knapsack, so I can find anything I have without hunting, even 
in the dark. 

It is curious how the high collar crops out on the slightest 
provocation, with some. As soon as good weather came and 
we began to get things in shape in our tents, the boys who try 
to mix military and mashing began to put on high collars 
while on duty till the width or height was so great orders had 
to be issued forbidding any collars at all to be worn while on 
duty. A white cotton handkerchief is the nearest approach to 
a collar I have been compelled to wear, but I kick even at that 
at dress parade, as you might know I would. I notice those 
fellows who gave the Spanish fleet hell at Manila didn't wear 
white collars and they are the kind of stuff" we all are 
proud of." 

Mr. Barbour invited a few of us down to a lobster stew 
and turkey supper to-night. The party included Sergeants 
S. G. Huntington and Boniface, Corporal Wheeler and Privates 
Gruener, Rathbun, Barrows, Sanderson and W. O. Case. 

Wednesd.av, June 29. Fine day. At 10 a. m. the 
battalion marched leisurely two miles out beyond The Head 
near a school house and stacked arms in a pretty daisy pasture, 
which was fairly red in places with ripe wild strawberries. We 
ate our rations (ham sandwiches, apple pie and coffee), in the 
shady woods. Jack, of course, went with us. 

Private Marvel during the rest was seized by some Indians 
hovering about the woods and dragged to a tree where he was 
bound tightly with ropes and a fire set under his feet. While 
he was thus burning at the stake the wild men completed the 
outrage by scalping him. During the march out he also had 
some live frogs thrust down his shirt front, much to his and their 
discomfort, for a time. About 3.30 p. m. we started back, after 
having saluted the school house Hag and executed the manual, 
to the unbounded delight of the assembled multitude, which 
included two old women and three small boys. On the way home, 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



209 



during a short rest, some of the men, while Captain Saunders 
industriously diverted the farmer's attention, were so bold as to 
attempt to milk his cow standing just inside the fence but she 
kicked. Later, Lieutenant Waterman ordered the marching 
salute to be given a tiny flag in the hands of some boys play- 
ing side the road. The salute was given with a snap, but 
the staring eyes of the boys showed they failed to appreciate 
the compliment paid them and their flag. After the dusty 
march, a swim in the cold, bracing salt water. How it rested 
us all ! Private Richardson of F gave a lobster supper down 




SCOUTING EXPEDITION, WITH ONE DAY'S RATIONS. 

at Mr. Jordan's to quite a crowd of us to-night. The papers 
described the stake burning like this : 

" There is an organization in the camp known as the "Camp 
Lidians," although it is impossible to ascertain to w-hat tribe of 
red men they really belong. 

While on the march last Wednesday, doing out-post duty, 
the Indians determined to work their degree on some member 
of the company. During a brief rest in the woods the mem- 
bers secured a rope from a home near by and after lassoing 
a recruit while he was eating his luncheon they bound him to 
a tree and stuck a bayonet each side of his head and another 
through the top of his hat. They then kindled a small fire 



2IO CHRONOLOGICAL. 

and had a grand pow wow and war dance, beating tom-toms in 
the shape of tin dippers and plates, and after scalping their 
victim with a bayonet they set him free just as the command 
came to " fall in." 

Thursday, June 30. Mr. Gardner, with a detail from 
K, consisting of Privates Gruener, Bassett, Mall, Gillette, 
Sanderson, Fulton and myself, rowed across to Fort Gorges 
and after luncheon of corn beef, baked beans, coffee and cookies, 
while the tide was out, we dug some two bushels of fine clams. 
We had a good time but we earned it, digging the whole island 
over for that limited measure of mussels. 

Friday, July i. Another clam bake for supper. Most 
of the recruits experienced to-night the sensation of being sent 
up ten or fifteen feet into the air in a blanket. Privates 
Cadwell and Dickinson attacked Pri\ate Fulton and m\'self 
late to-night. Cadwell got spanked where he ought to, but 
Fulton turned and soaked me, (his own tent mate), with a pail 
of water. I will even this up with him, some time. 

Saturday, July 2. Very hot. This compelled an easy 
skirmish drill this forenoon. This afternoon I went with a 
party of fifteen over to Two Lights fishing. Mr. Jordan took the 
party. 

Sunday, July 3. Last night half of F men were taken 
with cramps, caused by something they must all have eaten. 
Prix^ate Kirkley is sick. " Who stole the pie?" " Kirkley." 
This letter to my sister shows how I felt last night : 

" This war came to me in a new aspect last night when we 
received news of Shaffer's losses at Santiago. It was a beautiful 
moonlight night, with the breezes blowing just enough to keep 
the mosquitoes (our only foe, so far,) away and all the men 
seemed happy. We had had a good supper, the day's work 
had been light, some were going over to Portland to the 
theatre, others over to The Head to the vaudeville. 

Those that were about their tents were singing or enter- 
taining callers from the vicinity. M\' tent mates were all away, 
with the rest, having a good time and I was about turning in 
when some one over in F street struck uj) some familiar strains 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 211 

upon a mandolin and a guitar and then I could hold my tears 
back no longer. Here we are, having what is to all practical pur- 
poses, a delightful summer outing in a beautiful locality with 
the weather (now) all that could be desired and yet thousands 
of our men down at Santiago, fully as deserving as any of us 
are of the good things of this life, are now going hungry to 
bed at night and are sweating their strength and life away by 
day, under a torrid sun. That circumstance I could endure 
but when I read that possibly one thousand of them had but 
yesterday fallen in the attack upon Santiago and are at this 
very moment, possibly, lying wounded upon the ground and 
suffering from thirst, (O, I know what that is — hunger is noth- 
ing in comparison) — when I read that, the sound of that 
mandolin and the singing of our men over in F Street grated 
on my ears. For the first time since I marched up Main Street 
that day in May I was not happy, I was not content. O, how 
I wish I could share some of that suffering and some of that 
hardship. It seems to fall all upon the few. And if I know 
my own mind, it is not glory I am looking for. All the glory 
I care for in this life was mine when I accepted the opportunity 
and enjoyed the privilege of marching up Main Street in 
Hartford. That fact stands, and will stand, and what may 
follow people little note nor will long remember. Those who 
served and lived as well as those who served and died in 
1 861-5 ^^^ alike remembered on the Memorial Arch. They 
were one. So are we and a thousand of us to-day have fallen. 
If the blow had struck our state, our regiment, our company, 
it would have, for a time, seemed more heavy, but only for a 
time. With Connecticut troops in Maine (making friends 
every day), and Maine troops in the South or Cuba, the 
divisional lines fast disappear and we are all one. So I say, 
the glory of being in it, even at this distance, is mine and to 
that extent I am satisfied. But when the question of suffering 
and enduring hardships arises, that is something more of a 
personal matter, something which only a personal experience 
can satisfy. The opinion of Hartford was manifest May 4. 
It was formed then and if I act well the part assigned me. 



2 12 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

whatever it be, more or less, that opinion will not change. It 
is practically fixed. Like a man's reputation, it is what people 
think he is ; his character is what he really is. Now, I want to 
find out what stuff I really am made of. We have the reputation 
of being good soldiers. Whether we really are, is still an un- 
settled question. Only sharing in the suffering and hardships 
of those who suffer can decide this. The test, possibU', may 
only come to a comparatively few. Possibly it cannot be 
otherwise. If so, so be it. But, O, how I want to share the 
suffering with those men at Santiago ! 

To-day is the hottest day yet, still, the breeze makes it 
easil}- bearable. I took dinner with a class-mate of mine whose 
parents live not far from camp. He gave me six big heads of 
lettuce which I passed around among the boys of both com- 
panies when I came back. The old rivalry between K and F 
has disappeared and we are all one now, over two hundred 
of us. 

Isn't it funny? B\' wearing two pairs of stockings one 
saves the other and neither get worn through. The pair of 
cheap lO cent hose I put on May 4 are still without a hole in 
them. At home they would have been worn through and 
thrown away long ago. But perhaps the}- will wear thin and 
then go all at once, below the ankle, like the One Hoss Shay, 
" all at once and nothing first." 

Monday, July 4. What a night ! I turned in early 
last evening but was soon called out b}' the cr}- of " Fire." A 
lot of old straw and rubbish down b\' the rocks had somehow 
set itself on fire. All the pails in the street had also 
mysteriously hid themselves. But Sergeant Marshall, sergeant 
of the guard, and Corporals Wheeler and Carroll were equal to 
and rose to the occasion. The}' called out the guard and 
finally the entire camp, formed a bucket brigade and after a 
time had the fire under control. Soon after the guard had 
returned to their quarters, suddenl}' another fire set itself going 
and the guard was again called out, 

B\' the time this was subdued tlie camp was too wide 
awake to return to their tents and the men becan runninfj the 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 21 3 

guard — but let the story be told in a letter home soon to follow. 
I turned in the second time at i o'clock but fought mosquitoes 
till 3 a. m. and feel pretty " rocky" this morning. 

At 9, the battalion, wearing caps and white gloves, (what 
foolishness — men in actual service in time of war wearing 
white gloves) marched over, by the way of the ferry, to Port- 
land, escorted upon our arrival by the American Band. The 
line of march was long and the stops few. Many of the men 
suffered from the heat, particularly Sergeant DeLamater, 
Corporal Pierce and Private Oviatt. Private I'isher also fell 
out but, it is said, at once fell into friendly arms. Dinner was 
served at the armory at i o'clock and a rest taken till 3.30. 
In the meantime most of us were given the opportunity to see 
an object lesson in the practical working of a prohibitory 
liquor law. The saloons were as numerous and as wide open 
as on any holiday in Hartford. I visited several and saw 
liquor sold as freely as soda water. The march to the East 
Promenade was followed by a dress parade and sham battle. 
It was pre-arranged that Private Walsh should fall, in the heat 
of the charge. He did so, with unexpected results. Several 
women rushed up and began wringing their hands ; a police- 
man ran up, knelt down by his side and began fanning him 
with his hat and altogether the scene was very realistic. 

Finally, when the thing had been carried far enough the 
"Judge" opened his eyes, smiled and said, "Well, I guess 
that's enough of this," rose to his feet and walked away. The 
remarks of that policeman can best be expressed in a long line 
of dashes. After being treated to some excellent lemonade 
the battalion returned to camp in time for supper. I took a 
swim and as a cool shower in the evening wet down the 
mosquitoes I slept sound and well. Here is how the papers 
spoke of us : 

" There were at least ten thousand people on the Eastern 
Promenade yesterday afternoon and despite the intense heat 
nearly everbody remained until almost six o'clock. 

The crowd was first attracted by the balloon ascension, 
then it gathered in front of the stand where the semi-centennial 



2 14 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

exercises of the Grand Trunk were being held and finally it 
lined the long driveway for almost half a mile to see the mag- 
nificent drill given b}' the Connecticut Volunteers. 

The Connecticut men arrived at the promenade quite 
early in the afternoon but as there were other attractions going 
on at the time and as it was intensely hot Cajitain Saunders 
decided to allow his men to rest until the}- could have every- 
thing to themselves and also be assured of the temperature 
being a little lower. 

It was about quarter of five when the men received orders 
to fall in and then as soon as the throng could be driven back 
the dress parade came next. The volunteers made a splendid 
appearance on dress parade and they were frequently 
applauded for the accuracy and precision with which they 
performed the manual and also for the manner in which they 
went through the various marching evolutions. 

The dress parade being concluded Captain Saunders 
marched his men across the promenade as far as Congress 
Street and here he allowed them to rest. 

The next thing on the programme was an extended order 
drill which gave the thousands of spectators an opportunity of 
seeing just how the troops would act if going into actual con- 
flict. A section of Company F under command of Lieutenant 
Waterman was detailed to act as the enemy and then the 
remainder of the battalion which was to act as an attacking 
part}- was divided into three sections nameh-, the firing line, 
the support and the reserves. 

The attacking party was under command of Captain 
Saunders, the firing line was commanded b}' Lieutenant Smith 
and the support and reserves were commanded b}- Captain 
Newton. 

The enemy was posted in quite a strong position and 
commenced the firing. The attacking part}- promptl}- 
advanced and after firing two rounds by platoons, the men 
began to fire b}^ sections and scjuads and I'lnall}- at will. They 
advanced continually and while the firing b}' sections was going 
on, one section inwiriably adxanced under the fire of the others. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



215 



At length when ihe two forces were (|uite close together 
the command to charge was given and with a yell the attacking 
party rushed straight for the enemy, but on reaching them 
there was no further fighting as there would have been had 
Lieutenant Waterman's section been composed of Spaniards 
and all the men threw themselves on the grass thoroughly 
tired out. 

The extended order drill was magnificently executed and 
it was certainly a novelty to the spectators, the majorit\' of 




SKRGEAXTS' MUSS— TABLICS Coxi;. 
McKee. Fulton. H. L. Uuntingtou. DeLamater. Holt. 

whom saw for the first time how troops would be handled 
when going into action. 

After the volunteers had recovered from the effects of 
their vigorous exertions under the hot sun they were given cool 
refreshments and then they were marched down town. 

Captain Saunders and his officers are certainly deserving 
of praise for the high state of efficiency to which they have 
brought the men under their command." 



2l6 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

Tuesday, July 5. The men acted lifeless at drill this 
morning and to-night — no wonder, after yesterday's march. 

Colors were used at dress parade for the first time. 
To-night I actually slept cold. The sergeants' mess tables have 
mysterioush' blown away several times lately. 

The following letter in regard to yesterda}''s parade was 
received by Captain Saunders to-da}-: 

CITY OF PORTLAND, ME. 
MAYOR'S OFFICE. 

Portland, Me., July 5, 1898. 
Captain HENRY H. SAUNDERS, 

Commanding Connecticut Volunteers, 
Fort Preble. 
Dear Sir — I desire in behalf of the city to thank }-ou 
and your command for your splendid escort duty yesterday. 
Your battalion made a fine appearance and was a credit and an 
honor to the State of Connecticut and to the Nation. Please 
express to your ofificers and men my kindest regards. 

Yours lruly% 

C. H. RANDALL, Mayor. 

Wednesday, July 6. Ofificers from the fort inspected the 
camp to-day. Private Marion sprained his foot badl}- to-day 
while running on the beach. He had to be carried back to 
camp. Another cool night. 

Thursday, July 7. Captains George B. Newton and 
John K. Williams, old Cit\' Guard men, visited camp to-day. 

Friday, July 8. Corporal Silvernail took his squad 
down in the shade this morning side of Mr. Jordan's house 
where all hands were given some lemonade. Sergeant 
De Lamater was also considerate of the men this afternoon at 
skirmish drill. Private F. R. Denison's trousers, however, 
were badly ripped during the drill. Work on Ripley Avenue 
(the walk leading to the officer's quarters) was continued 
to-day. I got my eyes full of dust and dirt doing it. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 2 1/ 

Sailjkdav, July 9. The compan}- were given the free- 
dom of the city of Porthuid this afternoon and evening by 
Captain Saunders and consequently most every one had an edge 
on to-night. This is the letter I wrote home this afternoon : 

"Again I found myself alone in my tent this afternoon with 
nothing in view but a quiet time all b}' myself and I looked 
forward to a few hours of reflection with a good deal of 
pleasure, such an opportunity is so rare here in camp. I had 




FOUR OF A KIXD. 
Pattisoii. Eno. Bassett. Silvernail. 



gone down in swiniming after dinner, had put m\" dirt}' clothes 
to soak in a wash basin and put them away under the tent 
floor preparatory to washing them out Sunday morning and 
had laid down on my bare bunk to think. Two of my tent 
mates were out on guard and the other two had taken the 
special permit given the whole company this afternoon to go 
over to Portland without passes. The salt water put me in 
such a peaceful frame of mind that I soon dropped off to slee;) 
but only for a minute. 



2l8 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

" Where is the corporal of the guard," I heard some one 
ask out in the street. " Two of our men hax^e capsized out in 
a boat and have been drowned." The few men left in the 
street bounded out of their tents as if there had been a call 
" To Arms " and with others I ran down the hill towards the 
beach less than half a mile away. The wind had been blowing 
in a squally manner for some time, filling the tents with dust 
and dirt and making the canvass flap spitefully in the wind. 
I found that by tieing up the sides of the tent the wind would 
sweep the tent clear of the dirt and so our tent was compara- 
tively clean, however. 

We had not gone far before word was brought back that 
the men were printers from Portland, out in a sail boat on a 
drunk. Four were drowned; two were sa\'ed b\' our letter 
carrier, Private Rich of Company F, and are now being cared 
for by the good people near b}'. This is onl\- one of several 
similar plucky rescues in which Rich has figured as hero. The 
guard formed and ran down the hill with fixed bayonets, wh\' 
with their guns no one seemed to know unless, as one }'oung 
girl visitor here innocently enough remarked: "See, the 
soldiers are going down to fire into the water to see if it will 
not make the bodies rise." 

Speaking of turning out the guard, the night before the 
Fourth was a great time in camp. All the officers were away 
and about ii o'clock an alarm of " Fire " was sent in from 
Post 4. The guard was quickly turned out and ran to the fire 
tuith fixed bayonets. Then they ran back again and stacked 
arms. This time the sergeant, " Andy " Marshall, told the 
guard to get all the pails in the street and with these the guard 
again ran to the fire. Some of the men had stolen a lot of 
boxes and barrels and started a fire to one side of the camp. 
There was a good deal of fun in putting out the fire but the 
guard had scarcely got back into their tents again before 
another fire in another direction was set. .After keeping the 
guard bus\- in that way for a time, the boys began running the 
guard line as college boys begin rushes. Once out of camp, 
ihey would suddenh- turn about and \'clling like Indians come 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 219 

rushing into camp again. Imagine one hundred or one hun- 
dred and fifty men, with nothing but their under-clothes on 
(and sometimes with less) rushing about in the bright moon- 
light between the tents and across the lines, chased by half a 
dozen men with fixed bayonets. The fun continued till the 
officers returned at midnight. Now the boys say " Who lit 
that fire?" and the answer comes back in unison "Andy 
Marshall." " What with? " " His whiskers." The point is, 
"Andy" has a fire red mustache. 

The parade in Portland, as I thought, was a tough one for 
us. About eight miles of marching and a sham battle. But it 
was an uplifting spectacle to see British and American soldiers 
alike celebrating the Fourth and both cheering the news from 
Santiago, 

It has not rained here for nearly two weeks and the 
weather, excepting last Sunday and Monday, has been so cool 
that we sleep cold, sometimes. . 

It looks as if the fighting was about over, don't it, but no 
one can tell what the Spaniards will do in the way of sueing 
for peace. The bundle of papers came yesterday all right and 
I have passed them around, after reading them myself. We 
have lots of rumors about going everywhere under the sun 
but I reckon that we shall only see garrison duty, perhaps in 
Cuba, or guarding prisoners at Portsmouth. 

Supper of baked beans and brown bread and coffee and 
I am hungry so must stop. 

After the drowning accident, I went to sleep again but 
was continually being waked up by the boys so finally went 
over to the Y. M. C. A. tent and wrote this." 

Sunday, July io. More rumors of our return to 
Niantic and then to Camp Alger. We have finally been 
ordered to get ready. At parade to-night the biggest crowd 
of the season was present. Private McKone organized an 
individual fire department and exhibited wonderful powers in 
that Hne of effort. There was an extra long wait for Captain 
Saunders, much longer even than usual, on Sunday nights. 
Afterward, an impromptu concert, not altogether sacred, was 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



given in F street, Private Sobicralski and one or t-.vo other 
musicians taking part. It sounded first rate and drew quite 
a crowd. 

Monday, July ii. Again the battahon gave a dress 
parade on the lawn in front of Captain Rodgers' quarters at 
the fort to-night. The recruits have finally all found quarters 




SO.\K HIM. 
Hynes. Gillette. Fisher. 

in the compaii)' street and none sleep in the hall. Slept cold. 
On a postal card to-day I wrote; " We go back to Niantic and 
Camp Alger, but I think no farther south. This is the be- 
ginning of the end of the war, I think." 

Tuesday, July 12. New guns were issued to-day. One 
was given to me and I shall make a case for it. This afternoon 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 221 

I rode over to Riverton with a couple of class-mates and this 
evening saw " May Blossom " over at The Head. 

Wednesday, July 13. Rained all day. The "rookies" 
went out on guard mount for the first time. No drills, nor 
dress parade. This is the letter I wrote to-day, (mark the 
predictions) : 

"The orders to Camp Alger strike the officers here, as they 
do me, as the beginning of the end. Instead of our going to 
the " front" we feel that in a few weeks there will be no front 
to go to. The longer Spain waits before throwing up the 
sponge the more territory she will lose and with the fall of 
Santiago I think you will see the sponge go up. The papers 
you sent me were just what I like. Have you noticed how 
little there is in them about that war for " humanity's sake." 
The women and children who have left Santiago (15,000 it is 
said) are being left to shift for themselves, just as in case 
of any ordinary war. The reconcentrados are not mentioned, 
scarcely thought of. On the other hand, notice the ex- 
peditions being fitted out and sent to Manila, Porto Rico, the 
Canaries, etc. To me, these indicate a war of conquest, what 
I claimed at the outset was to be the case. The brutalities of 
We)der and the blowing up of the Maine gave this country an 
excuse, sufficient, in the eyes of Europe, to justify our inter- 
ference and we gladly interfered for the sake of humanity, well 
knowing, however, that the result would be an inevitable taking 
of Cuba, Porto Rico and possibly the Philippines to ourselves. 
I told G. C. a week after the Maine explosion that if war followed, 
those Maine men, lying undisturbed in Cuban sand, would 
find themselves buried in American soil when the war ended 
and I still believe it. 

Can we assimilate and ^Ymericanize all creation — the 
Cubans, the Porto Ricans, the millions of the Philii)pines? This 
seems to be the work awaiting this country, as the result of 
this war. I guess so. This country has always found men ctjual 
to the occasion, whenever the occasion arose, and always will. 

As for Camp Alger — 1 think the order is simply to pacify 
the howl " On to Cuba" which is beincj fired at General llawlev 



222 CIIKOXOLOGICAL. 

from various Connecticut quarters. And to me, our going to 
Camp Alger means a tour of duty there till the close and then, 
a part in the grand review down Pennsylvania Avenue. With 
that I shall be content, although the offer made May 4th 
meant much more. 

We return to Niantic Saturda\- and I will write again 
Sunday. The first storm since June 14th confines us to our 
tents to-day and the holes in the tents are as large as ever." 

Thursday, July 14. Pay day. We privates received 
$29.64, which means the United States government has paid 
us fifty-two cents a day from May 4th. But we're not kicking. 
Receiving double pay for the first thirteen days out is what this 
means. Again the freedom of Portland to-night and again the 
same result. 

Friday, July 15. Coming off guard this morning I took 
my last swim, for we leave to-morrow. At the dress parade 
to-night the " rookies " appeared for the first time and did well. 
Then everybody said good-bye to everybody else. The old 
straw dumped out of the ticks caught fire and spread till the 
flames actually threatened the old hen house where we sought 
shelter so many times from the first storms on coming here. 
The whole camp was routed out and a line of buckets formed 
and the fire was soon put out. 

Saturday, July 16. Up at 4.45, breakfast at 5, tents 
down and left camp at 6.45. Took trolley to ?kIonunient 
Square and then marched to station. Girls out in force. Left 
at 8.15. Coffee, lemonade and sandwiches at Nashua Junction. 
Arrived at Worcester at 2, Blackstone 2.45, Providence 3. 10, 
Niantic 5.15. Supper at 6.15. Slept on bare floor in tent and 
was cold before morning. One member of the company was 
placed under guard on leaving Portland, tried to escape, was 
tied to the steam pipes in the car and is now in the L^uard 
house. 

Sunday, July 17. This was a fine da\- and I got my 
washing out early. Fourteen of the orit^inal "Thirteen Club" 
had an o}'stcr su{)pcr at Saunders to-night. At dress parade 
to-ni"ht our old friends in F were at the rijjht of the line while 



CHRONOLOGICAL 



we were on the extreme left and a long line the rcLjimcnt made 
— twelve companies. 

Monday, July i8. To-day we leave for Camp Algcr. 
The camp was crowded with visitors. At 8 the tents were all 
down and at 1 1. 30 we had dinner. At 12 K fell in and marched 
down to the station to escort General Hawley to the camp. 




bU.MJ-. Ul- THl-; "ROOKIKS" IN TlUilK Nl.W UN 1 l-( > R.Mh. 
Terry. Monin. /.oiler. Driscoll. D. E. Brown. 

V\'e did so and upon our return the regiment was drawn up in 
line to receive him. Then we had to march along the rear of 
the line to our position on the extreme left. The regiment 
was standing at ease. It was an ovation along the entire 
march and when we passed Company F that command 
applauded us heartily by clapping their hands. For thi- 



224 



CliRONOLOGICAL. 



Lieutenant Colonel Hammond called them down sharpl\', but 
we shall never forget the kindh' feeling exhibited b\- the F 
men. 

We left Niantic, finall\', at 4.45 in the third section and 
arrived at New Haven at 6 o'clock. Supper on the train con- 
sisting of corn beef, frankforts and the bags of good things 
given us b)' the good w.jmen of Niantic and Crcsent Beach 
wlicn we left. Arrived at Harlem River at 9 and were ferried 




*^SS^msl V 



TUAWINC ()1;T. 
MARCHIM', TIIR()l-('.H WASHINGTON, D. C., 

Tri'.siKW, jri,\' 19, 1898. 

around to Hobokcn at 11.30 where we had some fine hot 
coflee as we boarded the train. 

TUESD.W, July 19. Earl}- tliis morning tlie manner in 
which the railroad men illuminated our wa\' as we left 1 [oboken 
shortly after midnight was uniciue. As the train passed 
through the big railroad freight wards all the locomotive 
wlii^tlcs in the \'icinit\' began to shriek and big hunches of oily 
waste were scattered along the rails of the adjoining tracks and 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



225 



set on fire. The noise made a perfect bedlam which, wiih the 
long lines of blazing waste through which the train ru'^hcd, 
made the scene a novel one — one long to be remembered 
by us. 

At 4 a. m. we reached Philadelphia. By 6 o'clock most 
of the men in the car were up, in time to be smothered in the 
Baltimore tunnel. At 8.45 wc reached Washington and with- 
out much delay started down l'enns}'lvania Avenue. Wasn't 





.«a 



i^'-S«i4-'*'' 



JUST BEFOKK IHE SHOWER, PENNSSI.VANI A CAM!', 
TUESDAY, JULY I9, 1898. 

it hot ! The lively step set for us I didn't min-l. for a time, 
but the few rests were little more than an aggravation. The 
loss of sleep on the train, the e.xtra amount of baggage I had 
undertaken to carry and the sudden advent into that torrid 
temperature, altogether was the severest physical strain I have 
had in many a year and I have had some pretty severe ones. 
Twice I sat down flat in the gutter, during the short rest, so as 
to rest my knapsack on the curb and ease my back, and if the 
President's private secretary himself had come along I don't 



226 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



think I should have stirred. I didn't care if I was in the 
capital of this great country and everybody looking, I found 
the gutter the easiest place to rest in and so I sat there. But 
didn't the chunks of ice that the good people of Washington 
gave us at the train across the city feel good. Not far from 1 1 
o'clock we crossed the Potomac River and passing on through 
Camp Alger proper, left the train at Dunn Loring, three or 
four miles beyond. A short march of a mile through the woods 
brought us to a camp of Pennsylvania troops where a rest of half 
an hour was given us. Here a heavy thunder shower overtook 




(.1 \U\i ll,.\r, .\l,\l< 1111'. M'KIM., ^ \Mr \l,i.l,K. 

us just as we were about to resume the march but the rain tclt 
good. Another march often in single file of a mile or so, 
through cart paths and along the slipperx' clay roads, brought 
us to a large last year's corn field. This was our future camp. 
While the camp was being laid out, our company stacked arms 
near a sluggish s[)ring sunxnindcd by a grove of trees where a 
huge fire was soon roaring and the men were steaming them- 
selves dry. Here we had luncheon, after which I laid down in 
the rain and went to sleep. As soon as the camp was laid out 
we were ordered to drn<7 a lone line of rails from a neighboring 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 22/ 

fence over to the kitchen. No sooner was that dut}- performed 
than we were ordered to drag them all back again. This we 
did, also. For supper we had fried pork, bread and coffee. 
Then we went out and cut a lot of pine boughs and made a bed 
in our tent. It was so hot and muggy I slept just outside, 
under the ropes, on some straw but I got wet through with the 
heavy dew. Captain Saunders to-night announced the follow- 
ing appointment of corporals: Gruener, Low, Appleton, 
Sanderson, Campbell and Ward. The kitchen detail, the 
guard and the prisoners all slept on the ground, without the 
shelter of a tent last night. 

Wednesday, July 20. I was up at 5 and washed out 
my blouse, trousers, shirts and things. There is no trouble 
about drying things in this sun. At 8.45 I was detailed with 
Private Shea and details from other companies to dig a sink 
down in the weeds in the lower part of the corn held. The 
work was in charge of Dr. McCook who allowed us to work 
but ten minutes at a time. Then we had twenty minutes off. 
But it was hot down in that hole, digging that tough clay ! 
One or two of the men gave out. We were relieved at noon. 
There were no drills to-day except inspection at night. 
Corporal Appleton, Private Webster and myself slept out on a 
pile of boards to-night that are to be used for a tent floor. 

Thursday, July 21. Drills were resumed to-day with a 
vengeance. Old soldiers say it takes a week to get accli- 
mated but Colonel Burdett thinks one day is enough. From 
7.30 to 8.45 there was a lively extended order drill and again, 
the same, from 10 till 11.30. Dinner at 12 of baked beans. 
Another drill at 5 and inspection at 6. Again through a 
special dispensation from the captain I was allowed to sleep 
out on the boards rather than with six in a tent in such 
weather. This is the letter I wrote home : 

"I am sitting out in the rear of our tent, on a pile of boards 
in a last year's corn field, in a drizzling rain, trying to write a 
Courant letter and now one to you. With six in a tent, sides 
closed, all talking, others outside blowing on a bugle into my 
ears and all telling me what to write or asking me for a match. 



228 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

a piece of string, a stamp, anything they happen for the 
moment to want, writing in such a place has its draw- 
backs, hence I am out here in the rain. 

I h'ke this experience first rate. It is the nearest we have 
yet come to the real thing. I sleep out doors, on the ground, 
in preference to the cover of a tent and as I now feel no more 
sleeping in tents for me. The day we reached here, while 
waiting for orders, I went to sleep on the ground, in the rain, 
with clothes wet to my skin. But who cares. There are 
mighty few things — " Fall in for drill." Three hours ago this 
call made me drop ever}-thing, for the time being. So it is most 
of the time, just now, but when we get settled a little possibly 
we will have more leisure. The next forenoon after we got 
here I was on the detail to dig yellow clay for a sink. A 
ditch twenty-five feet long and four feet deep was the size and 
while it was " not so deep as a well nor so wide as a church 
door," it was enough, in the sun with the thermometer up to 
nearh- lOO. But sweating never hurt me, so long as I can 
bathe my head and neck. I drink no water. Cold or hot 
coffee is what I live on during this hot weather. But I am 
tired to-night and must take a bath before lying down for the 
night. Am perfectly well and only wish )-ou were." 

This is The Courant letter referred to: 

" The First Connecticut V^olunteer Infantr\', wet to the skin 
and covered with \-ellow clay, lay down in a Virginia corn field 
late Tuesda}' afternoon about two miles beyond Camp Alger 
and slept on the ground that night. The regiment had left 
the train at a small station just beyond Falls Church, called 
Dunn Loriiig, and had marched oft" to the northwest, through 
a cart path in the woods to a camp of Pennsylvania troops 
where a short rest was made about i o'clock. 

The march across the city of Washington in the forenoon 
was a pretty severe test for most of the men. Many of them 
had fifty pounds of baggage on their backs besides their guns 
and the change from the cold coast of Maine to the asphalt 
streets of VVashingion, with the thermometer nearly up to ico, 
was somewhat sudden, to say the least. But there were very 



CHRONOLOGICAL 



229 



few cases of collapse and when the rain from the ugl)' looking 
thunder clouds came sweeping down through the woods the 
men welcomed the wetting down with a sigh of relief. Then 
the march was taken up again along a slipper}-, cla\' road and 
through a narrow lane in some more woods till finall}' a thirty- 
acre corn field was struck and the new camp of Connecticut 
troops was located. 

The field is covered with a thin growth of weeds which, 




CAMP OF THE FIRST CGXNECTICrT, LOOKING WEST. 
SEVENTH OHIO IN THE DISTANCE. 

with the last year's corn stubble, made considerable police 
work necessary. The ground slopes gently to the northwest 
and the view in any direction is limited by trees to less than a 
mile. The water supply comes from a driven well three-eighths 
of a mile distant, a small sluggish spring and a dried-up brook 
nearer by. When it is remembered that water to the 1,300 
water-soaked, mud-covered men was an important element ot 



2^0 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



comfort if not necessity, the apparent lack of preparation for 
our coming is noticeable. A well is now being driven within 
the confines of the camp, which will make camp life 
more easy. 

All the guard, a dozen or more prisoners and all the 
kitchen details slept on the ground the first night with no cov- 
ering but their blankets. Some of the men hustled around be- 
fore dark, cut a lot of pine boughs and made beds of these in 
their tents. The soft ground, however, is not so bad and many 




RELIEVING THE WATER FAMINE. 

prefer it. Mow they will like it when a soaking rain comes 
remains to be seen. 

Wednesday we had but one short drill, but this morning 
the regular routine of three hours' drilling in the forenoon be- 
gan. The men stood the heat very well, being allowed any bill 
of dress they pleased so long as they wore leggins. Officers 
and men all were in their shirt sleeves, frequently rolled up, 
and many duck trousers of different colors and stages of clean- 
liness have put in an appearance. Some men looked so singly 
to their personal comfort as to appear with nothing but drawers 
and undershirts on and the barefooted soldier is frequently 
seen walking tenderly about the company streets. This sud- 
den change in dress from the white glove dress parade efforts 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



2.^1 



in Maine has been put to music to the tune of " White Wings" 

as follows : 

" White gloves, we never grew weary of wearing thcni always 

at Camp Burdett ; 
But now that we 'ave left Niantic, we'll nevermore wear th-Mii 

again, you bet." 

The different camps located within a mile or two make 
themselves known to us by their firing at skirmish drill and 




COMPANY K'S camp KITCHKN AT AI.GER. 

their band playing at reveille, guard mount, etc. Mow strictly 
we shall be confined to our own camp grounds remains to be 
seen. 

The only incident of special notice during the trip from 
Niantic was the race between the second and third sections 
approaching Pelham Junction on the New Haven division of 
the " ConsoHdated " road. Both trains were going side by 
side in the same direction, at a mile a minute clip, first one 



232 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

train leaving the other a short distance and then in turn being 
overtaken by it while the men in the two trains, easily 
recognized in the well lighted cars, whistled and yelled at each 
other like mad. The race continued for four or five miles and 
the third section won the signal for the Pclham branch by a 
car. Colonel Burdett was on the second section and his defeat 
in the race was explained by the fact that the superintendent 
of the division \vas on the third, the \vinning section, but the 
third battalion men claim that their commander, Major 
Schulze, is a winner every time. 

During General Hawley's visit to Niantic on Saturday an 
incident showing the comradeship springing up among all the 
Connecticut troops occurred in a way to cause special com- 
ment and a reprimand as well. Company K did escort duty 
to General Hawley and after entering camp passed along in 
the rear of the other companies of the First Regiment to take 
its place at the extreme left of the line. As it did so it wa.s 
frequently applauded by the men in the different company 
streets not taking part in the parade, not only in the First but 
also in the Third Regiment and the battery organizations. 
As Company K passed Company F, standing in line at ease 
the latter organization, as one man, broke into a hearty hand 
clapping. This spontaneous outburst was understood as illus- 
trating, as it in fact did, the strong personal friendships which 
have grown up between the two companies during their en- 
campment at Portland, Maine, and the members of Compan\- K 
felt the compliment paid them deepl\'. liut the result was that 
Company F's attention was called to the unmilitary character 
of such a demonstration, by Lieutenant-Colonel llamnioiul. 

The camp here was laid out by a detail from Companies 
F and K. Only about a dozen men are in the hospital, all 
the result of the excessive heat. None are seriously ill. F has 
onh' one and K has none in the hospital. 

It is understood many other regiments will be located 
near by soon on account of the purity of the water from the 
driven wells in this locality and the general healthful conditions 
surrounding the camp." 



CHRONOLUGICAL 



233 



Friday. July 22. Again I was detailed for fatigue duty, 
digging a big sink for the kitchen, all the forenoon. Privates 
Bryant, Pimm and R. A. Case were on the same detail. It was 
five on, ten off. Very hot to-day. We put a plank floor in our 
tent but, for myself, I made a bed of boughs back of the tent. 
A guard has been put over the spring and so, no more water 
from there. The well water is fairly clear now. This noon we 
had a beef stew, the first fresh meat since reaching camp. 

Saturday, July 23. Salmon (canned) for breakfast. 
It was very good. For dinner, roast beef. That was good, 
too. Last night was so hot and muggy with the poncho close 
around my bod\', that I have tried a new scheme. I have put 
up a board at the head and at the foot of iny bed of pine 
boughs and with cross pieces, have suspended the poncho 
above the ground two or three feet. This will keep the dew 
off just as well and not feel so close. To-night the band came 
up to K street and gave us a serenade. After that, the boys 
got up an impromptu vaudeville show and entertained the 
crowd till taps. The Tinn^s has this in regard to the day's 
doings : 

" Poor " George " is dead: not George Washington, but 
George Thayer; at least one would think so judging from the 
grave dug in the rear of his tent and the tomb-stone erected 
there, from which this inscription may be read: " Here lies 
George Thayer, who always lied and always will." This is 
supposed to be the work of two of our divinit}' students, 
Private Fulton and Corporal Sanderson. 

Saturday evening K street was honored by a serenade 
from the First Regiment band, who played several patriotic 
selections, passing the evening pleasantly away until 9 o'clock 
when they bid us adieu Their fine playing attracted quite a 
crowd from Company M, who, after the departure of the band 
displayed some of their talent, which was very interesting. 

The K boys were not to be outdone by their neighbors. 

Private Dimock danced in such a manner as to give one the 

impression that he had seen the foot-lights before. Corporal 

Wheeler was next called and he responded checrfull\- and 

16 



234 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

executed an " old X'^irginia shuffle," calling forth round after 
round of applause. Next on the programme came Corporal 
Sanderson, who mimicked an aged minister to perfection. 
Deep was the interest manifested when a touching speech was 
delivered b\' Private Fulton, bringing to light the friendly 
feeling existing between the companies of the First Regiment. 
His speech was highly appreciated by the visitors while the 
applause was deafening. Every one was feeling happy ; so 
was Private Johnnie Knox, who wound up the evening's en- 
tertainment by doing an original cake walk which was very 
amusing. Taps would soon sound and our visitors departed, 
cheering lustily." 

Sunday, July 24. An inspection of quarters was had at 
8 a. m. After that I went over into the lot near an old farm 
house (I couldn't get very near for the guard drove me 
away), found a little shade and spent most of the day 
sewing on buttons, etc., and writing. This is The Courant 
letter : 

"The P'irst Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, as I wrote >'ou, 
pitched their tents in a thirty-acre treeless Virginia corn field 
last Tuesday afternoon and have since learned at least one 
lesson, the value of a cup of cold water. In fact, the 
temperature of the water is now of minor importance — the 
main question is, is it fit to drink? The only driven well in 
use, as yet, is nearly half a mile distance and once there men 
have to stand in line and wait their turn, to get even a pail full. 
At certain hours of the day the line is twenty-five or thirty 
men deep and when the kitchen details are out with their 
boilers and the water detail with their mule teams and barrels 
the wait is considerable longer. 

The P'irst Regiment is not the onl\' one dependent upon 
this single well. The spring not far from the cam[) has been 
cleaned out and is now clear again, but onl)- canteens can be 
filled there and not then after retreat. The reason for this 
restriction is because the guard with the prisoners are located 
near the spring and the constant travel to the spring after dark 
would make guarding the prisoners more difhcult. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



23: 



The value of water for the use of the men can be better 
appreciated when the conditions surrounding tlie regiment are 
remembered. There is no turf upon the ground. The weeds 
and corn stuble in the streets and about the tents have been 
poHced a\va\-. leaving a surface of fine dust, in places a couple 
of inches deep. There has been but one shower in a month. 
In some of the tents pine boughs keep the blankets, overcoats, 
guns, knapsacks, etc., out of the dust, but with six men in a 
tent there is pretty sure to be one man wlu) never picks up 




WATKK 1>KT.\11.. 
Dickinson. Cadwell. Dwyer. 

anything, but on the other hand, drops everything. \\'ith the 
temperature down, greater cleanliness might be observed, but 
when it is remembered that the men three times a day come 
back from their drills to their more or less cluttered tents, 
covered with sweat and dirt from head to feet — then the value 
of water, even a little, is very apparent. Many a man has 
learned to wash his face and hands with a single cup full and a 
basin full at night is considered a lu.xur}-, if sponging over the 
whole body before l}'ing down to sleep could be considered 



236 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

as such. In the skirmish drill, hre lying down is the order not 
infrequently given and then the fine dust and sweaty clothes 
combine in great shape. Furthermore, the sinks were not 
ready for use for several days after the regiment arrived. The 
edges of the corn field and even the parade giound itself had, 
by that time, become foul in the extreme as a result of the 
numerous diarrhceal diseases among the 1,300 men. The 
disagreeable nature of drilling and lying down in such filth, 
particularly when the order was to "advance by rushes," can 
better be imagined than described. To-day the new well is 
being pumped out by a detail from each company and this 
miniature water famine — really a matter more of discomfort 
than of real hardship — will be remedied. 

Very little if any complaint is heard in the matter of food. 
There is an abundance of it and the variety is sufificient. This 
noon we had a sort of frizzled corn beef, tender and juicy, rich 
pea soup, boiled potatoes, bread, hard tack and coffee. 
Yesterday we had roast beef, twice we have had baked beans 
and so far the much dreaded daily ration of hard tack and 
" sow belly " has not materialized. 

It is said we are now camoing on the identical spot where 
the Second Connecticut Volunteers camped during the early 
months of the Civil War. The ground is full of broken quartz 
and a number of arrow heads have been thrown up b)- the 
details engaged in digp.ing trenches. 

Last evening the First Regiment Hand gave a fine concert 
at the head of K street, under the leadership of Bandmaster 
Kennedy. That over, the crowd was entertained for an hour 
or more by impromptu specialties, including a jig dance by 
Dimock, cake walk by Bryant and Knox, dance by " Cy " 
Wheeler, speech by h^ulton, scriptural reading by Sanderson, 
all of Company K ; dance by Sergeant Bailey of F, and a variet\- 
of excellent numbers by other specialists from the different com- 
panies in the regiment. Up to this time the men had been so 
fagged out getting arranged in their new quarters that very 
little life was seen in camp, but the chances are when the heated 
term is over the men will once more begin to enjoy themselves. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



237 



The few men in the hosi)ital are improving. Cajjtain 
Newton of Companj- V is somewhat off tlic hooks. 

Hiram Buckingliam, wife and daughters, formerly of 
Hartford, and Mr. Stanclitf, a former Hartford newspaper man, 
and Mrs. Stanchff were visitors at the cam[) to-day. 

The first regimental dress parade since coming here took 
place to-night, just as the sun went down. The ground, of 
course, was full of hummocks, but the people of Hartford and 
vicinity would have been proud of the regiment if they could 



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HKALTHIKK THAN SIX IX A Tl'.XT. 
PRIVATE THAYER AT CAMP ALGER. 

have seen the twelve full companies, over one thousand and 
two hundred men, all but one company fully equipped, swing 
from column of fours into company front and sweep up across 
the field with the swing of veterans. It is said to contain a larger 
number of men than any regiment yet mustered into the service. 
P. S. — Poor Jack, the noble mastilTwe brought from Port- 
land, is suffering from the heat extremely and it is doubtful if 
he survives." 



238 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

This is the personal letter written to-day : 

"I am just beginning to get rested. I notice it takes me 
longer to recover from a hard day's work than it used to ten or 
fifteen years ago but otherwise I believe I am as tough as ever. 
This last week has put mc to a pretty severe test but no one 
has stood it better. All the men complain of feeling tired. 
But I must tell you about my bed. With six big strapping 
men in a small lent and all the blankets, overcoats, haversacks, 
knapsacks, guns, etc., belonging to each thrown around promis- 
cuously on the dirt floor — the thermometer at 100 and no shade 
outside the walls of the tent — every one tired and lying about 
without ambition enough to keep from throwing their arms and 
legs on each other — with such surroundings I made up my 
mind to sleep out on the ground rather than suffocate inside the 
tent. So I heaped up a pile of dirt in the form of a grave, in the 
rear of the tent, put a lot of pine boughs over it and tied them 
down with string and stakes. Then I put up a stake at each 
end, nailed a board on top, put my rubber blanket across and 
tied the ends out sidewise. Perhaps I don't sleep great under 
there. Without the rubber blanket, a fellow would be soaked 
in the morning, the dews are so heavy here. How my house 
will stand when the winds blow and the rains descend, remains 
to be seen but if the house falls I shall be found under it. 

I have done considerable digging since we came here. 
Perhaps I wrote }-ou, the next morning I was put on the 
detail to dig a sink for our battalion. There were twenty of us 
under charge of Dr. IMcCook and the spot was down among 
some low bushes where the sun beat in " for fair." We could 
work only ten minutes at a time and were then relieved for 
twenty minutes. This lasted one forenoon. Friday I was put 
on the detail to dig a hole for the kitchen swill. This is to be 
eight feet deep. I worked at that two days and it will last 
another da\-. Hard as this may seem — to put a h\'e toot man 
to throwing clay out of an eight foot hole — }-et 1 rather like it 
— much better than doing skirmish drill out in the dust and 
heat. When the order comes to fire, lying down, and )-ou and 
your gun are all wet with sweat, }'Ou can imagine the condition 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 239 

a man's clothes are in when he rises up out of the fine dust. 
But no one tries to keep clean — he can't if he tries. 

You may surmise from this that my superfluous fat is fast 
disappearing. It has in fact already gone and my clothes 
hang flabbily about me. But I must stop now to write a 
Courant letter while the inspiration is on — this air is not con- 
ducive to long continued effort of any kind. 

Isabella went back on us several weeks ago and was the 
property of several other tents, so we left her at Portland. 
But Jack is with us, poor fellow, suffering from the heat as big 
dogs always do. I am sorry the baggage detail bothered 
themselves with him, for I am afraid he will not survive the 
great change in climate. 

Don't worry about me at all for 1 feel thoroughly rested 
to-night. Found a little shade outside the camp, for a time. 
I have no idea we shall leave here at all, the Porto Rico 
expedition to the contrary notwithstanding." 

Monday, July 25. The constant pumping from the 
well has sent a small stream flowing down back of our street. 
To-day, by a miniature system of irrigation, 1 wet down a con- 
siderable portion ot the street and back of the tents. This, at 
least, laid the dust. The Third Virginia and the Seventh Ohio 
have gone into camp to the north and northwest of us. We 
hear their calls, "All's well," at night. 

Tuesday, July 26. Another hot day, the hottiest yet. 
During the skirmish drill this forenoon we were ordered to 
fire lying down and the spot selected was on a side hill with 
our heads down the hill. In this position we were kept for 
full five minutes, I should say, while instructions were being 
given to some of the men regarding the correct position of 
their legs. I laid there in the broiling sun till the sweat 
dropped off my chin and made a little puddle in the dust. In 
the meantime Captain Saunders went along the line and, taking 
hold of the men's feet, yanked their legs around into position. 
That drill came the nearest to using nie up of anything yet. 
Colonel Burdett seems to think the best way to prepare us for 
a campaign in Cuba is to drill all the vitality out of us here. 



240 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

Dress parade has been ordered, in honor of GL-ncral Hawley's 
visit to camp, for 3 o'clock this afternoon. 

Major Rockwell has ordered the parade given up, the 
heat is too great. The VV^ashington correspondent of The 
Conrant has this regarding the visitors to camp but the fact is, 
instead of being at drill the whole regiment was so used up 
with the heat that the men were l\'ing about in their tents, 
doing nothing, when the second party of visitors passed 
through the camp : 

" \V.\shin(;t()N, D. C, July 26. 

General Ilawlcy spent a few hours to-day at Camp Alger, 
calling at the headquarters of Major-General Hutler before 
going to the camp of the First Connecticut. Accompanied by 
Congressional Secretary Paul Ackerl}- of Rockville, he visited 
Colonel Burdett and Lieutenant-Colonel Hammond and made 
an informal inspection of the camp. It was noon time 
and the men were in the undress uniform of Camp Alger 
which, for volunteers from New England, means a shirt and 
overalls. 

General Hawley said to The Courant correspondent 
that the camp ground of the First Regiment was excellent, 
comparatively. Good water is obtained from a driven well 
one hundred and twenty-five feet deep. The food and kitchens 
are good and there is a remarkably small sick list. The 
discipline and temper are excellent. 

To the First Connecticut and the Third V^ir^inia is to be 
added the Second South Carolina to form the Third Brigade 
of the First Division of the Second Arm\' Corps. Colonel 
Burdett, because of seniorit}-, will ha\-e charge of the brigade 
in case of absence or disability of the brigadier-general. The 
telephone line at Dunn Loring is to be extended to his head- 
cjuartcrs. 

Immediatel}' after the departure from camp of General 
Hawley, Secretary John Addison Porter aiul Assistant Sec- 
retary of War Meikeljohn paid a visit to the camp and were 
cordially rcccix-ed b\' Colonel Burdett and the other oflicers of 
the I'^irst Regiment. It hajipencd that the regiment was at 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 24 1 

drill when the visitors arrived. The assistant secretary of war 
spoke high!}' of the appearance of the troops." 

At 6 o'clock to-night I was detailed, with Corporal 
Wheeler and eighteen others from the regiment, to do guard 
duty at the division headquarters of General Butler. '1 his 
meant gun, blanket, haversacks filled with a daj-'s rations and 
canteen of cofifee and a march of two miles. We were late in 
getting away and the result was a forced march. My clothes 
were wet through with sweat when we reached there but it was a 
warm night and I slept all right on the ground, under the 
trees, when I was off duty. Lieutenant Farrell was in cum 
mand of the guard. 

Wednesday, July 27. I was No. i man but I turned 
out the guard but once and then for Major Hickev'. I have 
eaten scarcely anything for two days. The last two hours — O, 
how long those two hours lasted — took all the spunk I had to 
keep from giving up but some hot coffee and a sandwich down 
on "The Midway" braced me up a little. The march back (and 
I was glad to get back) was through the woods and a shower 
overtook us before we reached camp, at 7.15. Later a 
heavy thunder shower struck the camp but the outcome of 
that is best told in a subsequent letter home. 

Thursday, July 28. New order of drills to-day. 
Company and battalion drills from 7.30 to 8.30 and from 9.30 
to 10.30. Drills in aiming from 4 to 5 ; guard mount at 6.15 
and dress parade at 7. It is slightly cooler to-day. 

Friday, July 29. Fatigue duty following our guard 
duty at division headquarters came to-day. The detail walked 
over through the woods and took it easy. At headcpiarters we 
filled some barrels with water from the pump down on the fiat 
while mule teams drew them up to the headquarters. After 
policing around the grounds, at IO.30 we laid off for the rest 
of the day. At noon under the trees we had lemonade with 
ice, salmon, bread and coffee. I am getting sick of coffee. 
We rode home in a mule team as far as the cider cabin in the 
woods and then walked. Private Fulton began building his 
arbor back of the tents to-day. To-night the men sang 



242 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



finely and the slightly cooler weather is making all hands 
feel better. The "Holy City" is the favorite song. 

Saturday, July 30. Private Fulton and a detail of six 
men went into the woods out back of the hospital tents and 
cut a lot of poles and brush for the proposed new mess house. 
We began the mess house but Colonel Burdett ordered the 
work to cease till the east line of the camp was established. 
He had located the Y. M. C. A. tent close to our street last 



i." 



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Jit 



KNEISEL QUINTETTE. 
F. E. Deiiison. F. K. Denisou. Jnclson. Clapp. Deimiston. 

week and had assisted in raising it by driving the stakes himself 
but the next day it was found over the line and had to be moved 
down to the lower part of the camp. Fulton's arbor was finished 
to-day. There was a queer sunset to-night, wide bands of light 
extending up to the zenith and down to the eastern horizon. 
We signed the pay roll to-day. 

Sunday, July 31. At inspection this morning there was 
a long wait while the men were kept standing at ease, in the 
hot sun. Some of the men, in fact nearl\' the whole company, 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



243 



fell out and took shelter in their tents from the heat. For this 
Captain Saunders gave us all a great call down. More rumors 
to-day of the Porto Rico expedition. These letters home 
written to-day explain themselves: 

" I will not try to describe Camp Alger, for I have, as 
yet, seen very little of it. Three other regiments are camped 
within sight and within a radius of three or four miles from here, 
in pastures, last year's corn fields and fine woods are camped 
some 24,000 men. Every day companies and regiments and 
long mule trains are passing within stone's throw of us. seeking 




MLLK TKAINS AT CAMP AI.GKK. 

new and healthier grounds in this vicinity. The clatter of 
their tin cups makes rather mournful music, as the jaded men 
tramp by in the hot sun. The first sound in the morning, as I 
beo-in to try to arouse myself, is the music of the ditierent 
regimental bands, around about us in the woods and fields, 
playing the " Star Spangled Banner " and other reveille music. 
Sometimes four or five bands can be distinguished playing at 
once. This certainly is a very pleasant way to be awakened 
but the conditions here seem to require something of the sort 
for we all get up feeling tired and lifeless. In fact, the tirst 
thing a native here does is to get up. get out of doors and 
immediately sit down to get rested. 






".^JIpB'r 



v7^.-/fS|^^ 






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CHRONOLOGICAL. 245 

My bed is a heap of pine boughs piled up out back of our 
tent. Half the company have followed suit and now sleep out of 
their tents. I have my rubber blanket suspended about three 
feet about my bed, upon a frame, and this keeps the rain and the 
usual heavy dews ofT my woolen blanket. In fact, some nights 
I have slept comfortably with nothing at all over me. My 
clothes I roll up and sleep upon, so they are handv in the 
morning. 

At breakfast, one hundred of us line up and go down to 
the kitchen. Our rations are served to us in tin dishes, with 
long handles, each man bringing his own. As we pass the 
cook, our tin cups are filled with coffee and then each man 
walks off by himself to find a place to sit down. x\s we are 
camped in a treeless thirty acre lot, covered with weeds and 
corn stubble and two inches of fine dust, you can better 
imagine how utterly useless it is for us to keep clean. It is 
like sitting down in the middle of the road to eat your meals. 
Yesterday, however, a detail of us went out into the woods and 
cut a lot of boughs and trees and we will soon have a mess 
house with tables under which we can be shielded from the 
fierce southern sun. After eating, each man washes his tin 
dishes in a big boiler of hot water. 

At drills we are allowed to wear what we please, overalls, 
duck trousers, etc., and all the men go in their shirt sleeves. 
About half the men wear blue flannel while the other half, 
dirty white or light colored shirts. Every one comes back 
from drills covered with sweat and dust, mixed together. 
Only once a day do we pretend to get clean. Just before 
lying down at night some of us strip ofT and take a sponge 
bath all over. That makes us sleep well the fore part of the 
night, at least. 

Tough as I am, for three or four days last week I was 
somewhat off the hooks, but I laid it to eating beef and fried 
pork too freely — food too full of the heating elements for such 
a locality. 

I like this camp, for it is comparatively free of bad rum 
and mean women. At both Niantic and Portland this was a 



246 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

great drawback to the good discipline of the camp. I also 
like the rough experience here, for it is the nearest to the real 
thing we have seen. As things look to-day, however, we are 
not likely to see active service. 

We go to Washington next Saturday to be reviewed, 
making a three days' march of it. I have lost about twenty 
pounds but this was chiefly water fat, better off than on." 

" For a wonder I have to acknowledge that I can't go 
from the cold coast of ]\Iainc to the muggy atmosphere of 
Virginia and continue to eat fried pork, roast beef and other 
heating rations and still feel well. — A citizen of Washington 
just stopped back of our tent where I am writing and I find 
he once boarded and slept in our old home at Windermere 
when the carpet men owned the mill in 1858-9. Jas. Boies is 
his name. — For three or four days last week I had no appetite, 
felt faint and lifeless and had mighty hard work to do my duty. 
When I was feeling the worst I was detailed as guard at 
General Butler's headquarters, two miles away. This meant a 
walk in the heat and dust, with gun, haversack and canteen 
and then twenty-four hours guard duty. I slept on the ground 
under some trees part of the night, while ofT my post, but it 
took all the sand I had to keep up till I was relieved the next 
night. For two days I ate nothing but a sandwich. That, 1 
guess, was just what I needed to do — to stop eating. I find I 
lost my appetite because I reall\- had no use for one. I ought 
not to eat and my system said so. I find that nature teaches a 
man how to eat and when and what. Now I am all riglu 
again, but I shall go shy hereafter of much food of a heating 
nature. It is almost supper time and parade comes right after 
so don't mind if I stop right here this time. We go to Wash- 
ington next Saturday for a review, 24,000 of us, and will be 
three days going and coming." 

Monday, Augu.^T i. To-day was not so awful warm. 
The new arbor came in hand)' for a meeting of the non-coms 
this afternoon. A new filter, furnished b\- the war department, 
has been hung up under the arbor. More work was put in on the 
mess house to-day. \\'ashington papers to-night say the order 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



247 



for Porto Rico has been issued and we are in it. The New 
Jersey camp went wild, husthng out their famous chum corjjs 
and yelhng hke mad for an hour. 

Tuiisn.w, August 2. To-da\- I ch-ew a new blouse, pair 
of trousers, hat, suspenders, drawers and leggins. The blouse 
and trousers were a mile too big and of no use to me. This 
afternoon from 2 till 4 I was on a detail cutting bushes for the 
new sinks. It was hot work in the brush. The Times had 
these news items of this day: 

"Tempus Fugit." We are now at the close of our third 
week of Southern camp life and patiently await the orders 




TRYING TO KEKP SH.\DV .A.T C.VMP .\LGER. 

(we hear so much about) for our proposed trip to Porto Rico. 
Tuesday evening Corporal Sanderson returned from Washing- 
ton and brought with him the joyful news that we were to 
leave here for Porto Rico. The news spread rapidly through 
the camp and happiness reigned supreme, hats were thrown 
into the air and very few of the men ate as much as usual, so 
happy were they. But we were not destined to be happ>- for 
more than twelve hours at a time and as yet we have no orders 
to move. 

Private Knox of Company K has been appointed mounted 

orderl}'. 



24^ CHRONOLOGICAL. 

Colonel Burdett is acting brigadier general of the second 
brigade. 

Hospital Steward Ed. Xoonan received a fine sorrel horse 
from headquarters the past week. 

Private McKee of Company K has been appointed orderly 
by Major Rockwell of the hospital corps." 

Wednesday, August 3. Last night a heavy thunder 
shower struck the camp. It woke me up coming in the 
distance and being the first one to come late at night since I 
began sleeping out. for a time I thought some of crawling into 
the tent witli the boys. I finally took down m\' poncho, how- 
ever, wrapped it close about me, pulled my hat doA-n over m\- 
forehead and waited, face upwards, flat on my back. How it 
rained ! The drops felt like little bullets peppering away at 
my poncho and into m\' face. But I never stirred and just let 
it rain. If I hadn't let it, probably it would, just the same. 
The storm petered out into a drizzling rain. I didn't 
put in a full night's sleep, but I tlidn't get wet, onl)' in 
m\' face, and now I know the worst. Private Knox is now 
dismounted orderly, having been relieved of his duty as 
mounted orderly. 

Rumors of orders to move the camp to Manassas were 
flying about this morning and had so much weight with the 
officers that after the morning drill we were ordered to pack 
up ready to move after dinner. After dinner we didn't 
move, so I wrote this letter to The Courant: 

" Number ten ; 4 o'clock. All's well." " Number eleven ; 
4 o'clock. All's well." "Number twelve; 4 o'clock. All's 
well." These words, ringing out in the still air of the earl\- 
dawn, roused me from a heavy sleep the other morning and I 
raised up on my bed of pine boughs and listened The Third 
X'irginia had come over from Camp Alger the afternoon before 
and now, for the first time, their tents appeared over in the lot 
next north of our camp, having grown up, mushroom-like, 
during the night. I listened and the calls of the sentinels 
continued. "Number twent)' ; 4 o'clock. All's well," rang 
out with a peculiarl}' soothing rising and falling inflection till 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 249 

finally the cry was " Number twenty-six ; 4 o'clock. All's 
well," and then the calls ceased. 

Possibly I fell asleep watching the morning stars fade 
from view as I lay flat on my back out in the open lot, but be 
that as it may, very soon the different bugle calls began and 
then there was no more sleep for me. First, the Ohios off on 
the side hill to the northwest, half a mile distant, began to 
arouse themselves. Then the Pennsylvania bugle, through 
the trees to the northeast, could be heard complaining, " I 
can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up." Bugles to the southeast 
of us, bugles to the east of us now joined the band of soloists 
and then all was still again, but only for a time. 

When the sun finally arose, as if to join in one grand 
chorus, the regimental bands for miles around all began to 
play, the music coming out strong and full and now tl\'ing 
away in the distance, as the light breezes shifted here and 
there, but the song, whether faint or strong, was the same, the 
bands were all playing in unison and the 20,000 men round 
about were all being aroused to the music of the same grand 
tune, "The Star Spangled Banner." 

I slipped on my clothes and went down through the 
company street. The men were still asleep. Here a man had 
dragged out his mattress in front of his tent and had made his 
bed. There, men had crawled out of their hot tents upon the 
cool ground and slept all night with nothing but a blanket over 
them. Out back of the tents some of the men had rigged up 
rough arbors of pine and walnut boughs and were still sleeping 
soundly under them All the tent flaps were wide open and 
most of the side walls were tied up and everywhere the effects 
of the hot, muggy night were apparent in the manner in which 
the men had evidently rolled and tumbled about in the night 
trying to find a cool place. The men were all sleeping heavily 
and when the call of our own bugler was finally heard the men 
were aroused with some ditificulty and crawled out to stand up 
for roll call, feeling tired and lifeless. Grand as the music of 
the different regimental bands was, 1 tell you it needs some- 
thing of that kind of an incentive to keep men from getting up 
17 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 251 

cross in such a climate. They have, at such times, ver)' little 
regard for what they have on. 

But hard as it is in the morning to put some life into the 
men, at night there is no lack of spirit. The other night the 
First Connecticut Band went over and serenaded the Virginians 
and when the hand, after playing " Yankee Doodle," followed 
it with " Dixie" such yelling you never heard. Then, a few 
nights later, the New Jersey regimental drum corps (organized 
in place of a brass band) showed the Ohioans what the}' 
could do in the way of noise. The drum corps was 
half a mile away from us but the noise must have been 
heard by Shafter or possibly Dewey. And when the cheer- 
ing began it soon increased to a continuous yell, till the 
Virginians themselves must have got some pointers in that 
business by listening to it. 

Speaking about fun you ought to have seen the First 
Regiment the other night during a heavy thunder shower. It 
was the first rain since coming here and for days the men had 
been so covered with sweat and dirt that they had ceased to 
try to keep clean. But when, shortly before 9 o'clock, the rain, 
in great drops, began to fall and spatter upon the dusty streets, 
you ought to have seen the effect upon the regiment. Have you 
ever noticed how, during a summer shower, the small toads 
suddenly appear and begin to hop about in the rain? Well, 
notwithstanding many of the men had turned in for the night, 
in less than five minutes half the regiment had stripped off 
their clothes and came rushing from their tents out into the 
streets, in the faint light of the moon, stark naked. Imagine 
five or six hundred naked men, racing about in the dark on the 
slippery clay and yelling like Indians and playing all manner 
of tricks upon one another ! Up near the pump a bucket 
brigade was formed to dash the cold, artesian water upon the 
bare skin, heated almost uncomfortably by the warm rain. 
Then a line was formed and the men, on their hands and knees, 
passed along under the very spout ot the pump as it gushed 
forth its big, refreshing stream. It was a big treat for the 
regiment and did us lots of good. Some of the tents were 



252 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

pretty badl>' flooded, however, before the ditches were 
made sufficiently large. 

The typhoid fever scare, which has been so industriously 
worked up in some of the newspapers, makes us of the First 
Regiment smile. Camp Alger proper is three or four miles 
from us. It has been occupied as a camp for nearly three 
months and typhoid cases to an unusual extent have arisen 
there. The camp is consequently to be abandoned. The 
First Regiment, on the other hand, is located upon entirely 
new ground, several miles from the infected district and is 
using water from driven wells located upon the local camp 
grounds. Furthermore, not a single case of typhoid fever 
exists m the First Regiment. Only five, all told, out of the 
1,300 men in the regiment are in the division hospital and 
none of these is dangerously ill. Three other regiments from 
Camp Alger have recently been sent over to this locality 
because of the healthy conditions surrounding this camp. 
Two driven wells are now in working order, one at each end of 
our camp, and good water is to be had in abundance, close at 
hand. The only drawback is, there is no place to go in 
swimming and many men cannot be prevailed upon to bathe 
their whole body except they have an opportunity to go in 
swimming. 

A few days ago members of the regiment were surprised 
to hear that Captain William E. Mahoney of Company B had 
been placed under arrest by order of Colonel Burdctt for 
alleged disobedience of orders. Captain Mahoney was officer 
of the day, the second in authority in the camp, and had always 
been considered one of the efficient officers of the regiment. 
The trouble arose in this way : Colonel Burdett told Adjutant 
Wainwright to issue an order to have a certain prisoner at 
division headquarters at a certain hour. This prisoner was in 
the custody of Captain Mahoney, officer of the day. The 
order came to Captain Mahoney verbally, having been passed 
on from one officer to another till it was worded like this : 
" Have a prisoner over there at 7 o'clock." What prisoner 
and where Captain Mahoney knew not, so he did nothing. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 253 

Word was sent back to Colonel Burdett that Captain Maiioney 
had refused to obey the order and the arrest was at once 
made. As soon as the facts came to the knowledge of Colonel 
Burdett he at once ordered the arrest vacated and has now 
issued the following order: — 

Headquarters, ist C. V. I. 

Camp Al(;er, Va., July 29, '98. 
Order No 36. 

" Captain William E. Mahoney is hereby exonerated from 
all blame in the matter for which, by error, he was placed 
under arrest on the morning of July 28, 1898. The error 
arose from fault in the transmission of orders. 

" The commanding of^cer regrets that any one should 
have suffered without just cause and through mistakes and 
misunderstanding. 

" Hereafter all orders will be in writing, clear, distinct, 
specific and served by leaving a copy with the officer charged 
with their execution. 

" By command of Colonel Burdett. 
"Jonathan M. Wainwright. 

" Captain and Adjutant First C. V. I. 

To-night all manner of rumors are in camp. This morn- 
ing we were ordered to pack up to be ready to move to the 
new camp at Manassas, Va., (Bull Run), to-morrow morning. 
This afternoon word came we were to relieve Shafter's army. 
To-night the Washington papers state the First Connecticut is 
to be sent to Porto Rico. All this tends to give us something 
to talk about and probably that is the extent of its effect upon 
the First Connecticut." 

The Times has this newsy bit about the company beards: 
" Most of Company K's men have had their heads shaved 
and numbers of them have started to grow various styles of 
beards and one who is much more noticeable than the rest is 
Private Roy Wiley, he having grown a beard of the same style 
as " Butcher Weyler," and has so been dubbed by the com- 
pany. Another worthy of mention is Private Driscoll who 



2 54 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

has a beard the same st)'le as Chauncey Depew. Privates 
Marion and Cannon in tr}ing to snccessfully cultivate a Van- 
dyke found that at the best they could only resemble an 
Italian musician (bagpiper). Private Fulton has his head 
shaved as have also Pri\-ate Johnnie Knox and Corporal 
Carroll. Private George Thayer is thinking seriously of having 
his hair cut, but we all hope that George will not be so foolish 
as to lose his overgrowth." 

Thursday, August 4. The whole company or so 
much thereof as could be found this morning, were detailed to 
cut and burn brush down by the sinks. To-night, at guard 
mount, I was selected as brigade orderly. 

FrH)AV, August 5. The official order, commanding 
Colonel Burdett to report by telegraph to Major General Wade, 
who will conduct us to Porto Rico and there report to Major 
General Brooks who, in turn, will report to General Miles, 
sounds or reads like business. But mark the prediction, "we 
don't go." The order, I think, is issued to appease the clamor 
of so many commanding officers to be sent to the front. The 
war is about over and the authorities at Washington know it 
and they also know there will be no necessity for our going, 
even if the order is issued. Orders that have appeared far 
more likely of being put into execution than this, have been 
countermanded before now and this will be. Onl\-, the 
authorities can then say, "Yes, your regiment would have been 
sent to the front and it was in fact under orders to go and 
would have gone, only the war ended so soon." This is the 
official order. It reached brigade headquarters this forenoon 
and in the temporary absence of the acting brigadier general. 
Private Thayer, Company K, First Connecticut Volunteer 
Infantry, acting brigade orderly, received it in his official 
capacit}' and receipted for it. Ahem ! ! ! 

General Orders, ^ WAR DIT'ARTMENT, 

I Adjutant General's Oefice, 
No. 111. ] Washington, August 2, iSgS. 

The commanding oflficers of the following regiments U. S. 
Volunteer Infantry will report to Major General J. h. Wade, 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 255 

U. S. Volunteers, War Department, Washint^ton, District of 
Columbia, b\' telegraph, for instructions and orders: 

First Rhode Island, First North Carolina, First New 
Hampshire, First New Jersey, Second Texas, First Maine, 
Fourth Missouri, First Alabama, First Vermont, First West 
Virginia, First Connecticut, Third Tennessee, Twenty-second 
New York, First Arkansas, Fifty-second Iowa, Third Virginia, 
First Delaware, and First Maryland. 

These regiments will be organized into brigades, as 
follows : 

1st Brigade — First Rhode Island, Fourth Missouri, 
Twenty-second New York. 

2nd Brigade — First North Carolina, First Alabama, First 
Arkansas. 

3rd Brigade — First New Hampshire, First Vermont, Fifty- 
second Iowa. 

4th Brigade — First New Jersey, First West Virginia, Third 
Virginia. 

5th Brigade — Second Texas, First Connecticut, First 
Delaware. 

Gth Brigade — First Maine, Third Tennessee, First Mary- 
land. 

Major General IVac/e, U. S. Volunteers is, by direction of 
the Secretary of War, assigned to command of these brigades 
and will conduct them to Porto Rico. On his arrival there he 
will report to Major General Jo/in R. Brooke, U. S. Army, for 
duty with the forces under the immediate direction of the 
Major General Commanding the Army. 

The commanding generals of the several Army Corps in 
which these regiments are now serving are enjoined to give 
General Wade every possible assistance in the movement 
herein ordered. 

These regiments are detached from the corps with which 
they are now serving for this campaign only, at the termina- 
tion of which they will be returned to their respective corps. 
They will be accounted for on all returns as on detached 
service. 



256 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



On completion of this ser\'ice, General Wtuie will resume 
command of the 3rd Army Corps. 

BV ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WaK: 

H. C. CORHIN, 

Adjutant General. 

This afternoon the regiment marched out towards Fairfax 
Court House and back, some four miles. 

Saturday, August 6. Last night or this morning early 
I actually slept cold. Now there are rumors that we shall 







.■■<-* '.S*% ■■■■♦. ■; 



*c; 



.J >■ 



^-«'^^ 



»•■■«> 




^o 






ITI.TO.N S AKHOR. 

Boniface. S. C lliintinL'Ion. Uclt. Niinan. 

('!il»" CaiuKiii. A|)i)l'Ii)D. Diniock 

II. I.. niiiitiii>,'ti>n. Hii'bu. Thayer. (Jruent-r. 

<';iriiill. L(i\v. Cauipbell, Websiter. 

march up the Shenandoah Valley in search of a new camp 
within a few days. Inspection this morning and pay day this 
afternoon. I receivetl $15.60. To-night it is positivel)' stated 
that we start, ()\'erlaiul, {ox Newport News, next W'ednesdaw 

Sunday, August 7. h^ine dax-, not so warm. This is 
the Sunda}' letter I sent home : 

" For a wonder I have all letters answered aiul nuthing 
special to write to The Courant and ynu don't l<now what a 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



■^/ 



relief it is to lie around and really loaf. Hut I never dare to 
let my thoughts wander home or look ahead for I should be 
homesick, sure. We have built a little pine arbor out back of 
our tent and it comes in very handy to sit down in the shade, 
outside of our tent. The last few da}'s, too, have been more 
comfortable and one night our blankets were really needed to 
keep warm. Our company street is on the left of the line but 
it so happens we are nearest the pump and nearest the road 
where all the other regiments pass to and fro and so we see all 



Xi-: 




"judge" WAI^SII AND HIS I.VW OFKICK. 

barber's shop in the distance. 

that is going on. There is a barber's shop and pool room 
close by, a restaurant over in the Virginia camp next lot and 
our company has opened a canteen so that we now lack 
for nothing, except a place to swim. Hut I take a sponge 
bath, all over, every night just before going to bed and so 
keep clean. Big, black bugs, like horn bugs only larger and 
without horns, make themselves very iricndlx- with those of us 
who sleep on the ground. The other night one got inside my 



258 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

drawers and he woke me uj) twice before I really could get up 
life enough to squeeze him to death. Then I dropped off to 
sleep so quick I forgot all about him and only found him in 
my shoe the next night, dead. Bed ticks also bother some of 
the men and I found one in m\- hair the other morning but 
none of these bite or otherwise bother me, though some of the 
men complain of being bitten up. There are no mosquitoes 
here. The weeds about the cam[) where we drill are full of 
penny-royal, making a very pleasant perfume. Sassafras is 
also as abundant as alder bushes at home. 

A woman in camp is a curiosity and there in fact, are 
very few visitors at all. In a camp where men live so much out 
of doors, dressing and undressing where the\' please, it is no 
place for a woman. Nor is the language which some of the 
men use fit for the ears of any decent woman, so I am glad we 
are well rid of that nuisance — the woman in camp. Orders 
have been issued from Washington to discharge all men who 
have contracted certain diseases and Major Rockwell told me 
the discharge papers would state in red ink the cause of the 
dismissal from service. This ought to have a tendenc}- to 
caution and restraint. 

Secretary Alger may be slow and all that but I like the 
way he took " Teddy " across his knees and spanked him 
for saying his Rough Riders after their fight at Santiago were 
worth any three of the rest of us \-olLintcers. This question 
of courage is a very unknown qualit}' and shows up in 
unexpected quarters. They say, those who ha\-e met 
llobson, that he has a very affected, almost effeminate manner 
but the true stuff was mulcr there. The Ri)UL;h Riders were 
selected for their known physical courage, in foot-ball, horse 
polo, cow punching, etc., but I tell you the courage needed in 
standing up and being shot at, from a distance of three or five 
hundred yards with no possible chance of hitting back the man 
who shoots you, is very different stuff from the courage required 
in a prize ring, foot-ball game or other hand to hand confiict. 
In these, a man's strength — the strength he knows he has at 
his command, puts courage intt) his make up. He kin)ws that 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 259 

if he is stronger than the other man and uses his strength 
aright, he will win. But in a battle, in these organized shoot- 
ing matches, the man who steps out from behind a tree or 
stone wall and runs across an open space to meet his man is 
at an awful disadvantage so far as being braced up by any- 
physical (mere brute) courage he may possess. In such a 
contest a John L. Sullivan is brought down to the level of a 
boy of eighteen and the chances between them are about equal. 
There is no possible way for the two to test their relative 
strength with each other. The weakest may easily win, with 
good fire arms. So, I say, the courage possessed by the foot- 
ball player, etc., is of no great advantage here, for his strength 
cannot be used to his advantage over and above the strength 
possessed by the weakest of us. Just what kind of courage is 
needed here I can't tell — not having been tested as yet — but it 
is something very different from that physical courage. It is 
not so boisterous, so out spoken, so loud. It is not so often 
found in men of that stamp, but rather in those quiet, self-con- 
tained men. The courage that carries men into fever plagues, 
that causes them to care for lepers as did Father Damien, and 
that causes them to go where they are ordered without a 
murmur — that is the kind that tells and that kind is found else- 
where than exclusively among Rough Riders. I know a noted 
foot-ball player in the Yale battery, full of courage of the brute 
sort because he knows he is strong, but I believe that fellow 
would run before a little Spaniard, lying in ambush. A good 
soldier is one who does as he is ordered, cheerfully, and who 
goes where he is told to go, in utter disregard of his own 
existence or non-existence. Such a man might run at the 
sight of a stripped snake or be afraid to wet his feet but still 
face a bullet calmly. 

1 was also glad to see Teddy get called down because I 
believe courage is not a thing that is alone possessed by 
veterans, men who have been under fire. It is not an acquired 
trait of character, one easily put on, as an overcoat in cold 
weather. If so, it could easily be taught in our schools and so 
made a part of a man's education and all the cowardice driven 



260 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

out, as SO much illiteracy. I liked the editorial in The Courant 
lately on courage. It claimed courage existed in the regulars 
no more than in the volunteers, only, in the regular, his 
courage was more easily made immediately available, that 
was all. 

Alger also said Teddy was no better than any of the rest 
of us. You remember when they called for volunteers there 
were about four thousand Hobsons ready to do what eight 
only were selected to do. The same that was true of our navy 
is also true of our arm^^ Let Colonel Burdett call for volun- 
teers to do a nervy thing and \'ou would find seventy-five per 
cent, of the regiment step out. Our Civil War showed that 
the brave men were pretty well distributed, north and south 
and so now. I like Teddy and always have but he seems to 
forget that he was luck\', that's all. The opportunity which 
250,000 other volunteers would gladly have embraced fell to him 
but he uses this stroke of good luck to disparage the others, 
who, through no fault of their own, have missed the oppor- 
tunity of their lives. Gratitude and not a swelled head would 
become him more, just now. 

From a military standpoint, I am thankful our company 
has such a good disciplinarian. Captain Saunders is the best 
drill master in the regiment. 

I acknowledge I did not aim high enough in regard to the 
motives which prompted this war. Begun, as I thought, with 
the idea of conquest but ostensibly to give one and one-half 
millions of people a better government at our very doors, we 
have extended our humanitarian ideas not only to all the Span- 
ish West Indies but to eight or nine millions of people on the 
other side of the globe. Did those who were such friends of 
the Cubans have any idea their love for humanity, in order to 
be consistent, must now be extended to the millions on the 
other side of the earth? No. The fact is, we all failed to see 
the great responsibilities which would be thrust upon this coun- 
try as a result of this war. And can't you see behind all this, 
an unseen hand? Don't }ou rcmcnil)er how, before the Civil 
W^ar, a number of events which no huni.in foresight contemplated, 



CHKUNOLOGICAL. 26l 

occurred and brought to an issue the irrepressible conflict ? 
The repeal of the Missouri compromise, the Dred Scott ticcis- 
ion, the writing of Uncle Tom's Cabin, John Brown's raid — all 
these tended to make the Civil War inevitable, but very few saw 
the great responsibility later to be thrust u[)on this country — 
the freeing and educating of 4,000,000 of colored people. 

So now. Who, a year ago, would have supposed De Lome 
would write such a letter, or that even a Spaniard would be 
treacherous enough to blow up the Maine. Who ever supposed 
a fleet could sail in among mines and sink a whole navy with- 
out the loss of a man, and yet this almost miracle was wrought 
— for what? That eight or nine millions of people might be 
brought under the care of the American people. And ihe 
American people never have shirked any of the great problems 
cast upon them and never will. 

During the week, except at parade, I wear duck trousers 
more or less white. They wash easy and are cool. Every one 
goes in his shirt sleeves. I am really glad we came here though 
there is now talk of moving us farther west, to Manassas, to 
get rid of the fever scare at the old camp, four miles east of 
here. That I shall not mind, for I feel first rate again now. 
As for our going to Porto Rico, I don't give that a second 
thought, though some o( the men dislike the remote prospect 
of doing garrison duty there. 

I get The Courant regularly, one day late. We have a 
fine reader as tent mate and he reads all of Dooley's letters to 
us with perfection. I was invited to the Y. M. C. A. tent to 
dinner to-day. It wa^ the first time in four weeks that I have 
eaten a meal in any other attitude than sitting in the dirt with 
my legs crossed tailor fashion and the tin plate of rations and 
cup of coffee on the ground in front of me. It was a pleasant 
break. Some of the boys nearly every Sunday go out to the 
farm houses near by and get a square meal. But this letter 
will be too long already, I guess, so will stop short oft." 

MOxNDAY, August 8. I was on a detail bridge building 
morning and afternoon. We built a new bridge just norih of the 
Third Virginia camp, on the way to the division headtpiaitcrs 



262 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



in the forenoon and this afternoon rebuilt the one between that 
camp and our own. A heavy shower stopped work on this 
but the job was nearly finished. The Sixty-fifth New York 
were going into camp over on the hill and were caught by 
the shower. To-day it is " settled " that we go to Thorough- 
fare Gap instead. I little thought the new bridge over into the 
Third Virginia camp built this afternoon would so soon be 
used b}' the regiment and in fact b\' Company K the first of 
all the companies in the regiment. The following Courant 
letter written the next day tells how this came about : 

"The First Regiment Connecticut X'olunteer Infantry came as 
near seeing active service last night as it is likely to during the 




VIKC.INIA TAHIJ>I)'lU)Ti;. 
Biirber. (iillette. Appleton. W. C Johnson. Wliet-lock. 

present war and the long roll call was sounded for the first time 
within the memory of any member of the present organization. 
To be sure, the P'irst Regiment, C. N. G. was called upon 
suddenly at the time of the Park Central disaster and responded 
promptly and again during a sham battle at Niantic, a few 
years ago, the long roll was sounded, but this call had been 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 263 

anticipated. Last night, during a rip[)iiig thunder storm and 
without the sHghtest warning, the members of tlie First Regi- 
ment were called out to prevent what easily might have been 
a lynching bee over in the Third Virginia camp, in the next lot 
to our own. The trouble arose like this: — 

Shortly after dress parade, at 7 o'clock, a member of the 
Third Virginia and a colored man got into a fight, with the re- 
sult that the inevitable razor got in its work. The wound was 
not serious but the negro ran and was at once followed b)' a 
few excitable Virginians over towards the division hospital 
tents, a short distance away. The hospital attendants caine to 
the negro's protection, but word was quickly sent through the 
Virginia camp that a " nigger" had killed one of their men and 
with one accord the whole regiment broke loose and rushed over 
towards the hospital tents yelling " Lynch him, lynch him." 

Major General Butler was close by at division headquar- 
ters and immediately mounted his horse and rode down into 
the crowd, ordering the men to their quarters and threatening 
to call out the other regiments near by and to put them all un- 
der arrest. Colonel Burdett also happened to be near the Vir- 
ginia camp at the time on his bicycle and w^as asked hovy soon 
he could get his regiment over there. He replied "at once," 
and the order was given. 

Down through the Virginia camp, across a small bridge, 
into a deep mud hole and up into our camp rode Colonel Bur- 
dett on his wheel, bumping over the uneven ground of our corn 
field and into K street with a rush. K is the first street in the 
left of the line. 

"Where is your drummer?" he cried. The drummer was 
not in the street. Scarcely a dozen members of the company 
were. They were scattered all about, over in the Virginia camp, 
up visiting the Ohio men, down in the New Jersey camp — any 
and everywhere and not one of them anticipating a call to dut>-. 
What was true of K street was true of the whole regiment. It 
was the one time during the day when the men all feel at 
liberty to leave their company street, for the duties of the day 
are over. 



264 CHRONOLOGICAL, 

Two or three streets farther down the line a drummer was 
found and then the long roll began. Most of the men in the 
regiment never before heard the call, but the continuous roll 
made ever\' man within hearing stop and listen. It was a sound 
of alarm and the men instinctively knew it to be such and with 
but one thought — 'T wonder what the trouble is?" — started for 
their tents on the run. They came from the neighboring camps, 
from the V. M. C. A. tent, from the sinks, from the kitchens, 
from the pool rooms, from the barber's shop, from everywhere. 
The whole 30-acre lot seemed to be full of wild men, 
rushing in all directions and the black clouds rolling up 
from the west and the spiteful forked lightening, running 
down to the ground, made the excitement of the moment 
more intense. 

"Fall in, fall in, everybody, be lively now, grab any gun 
you can get, no matter for your blouse, don't stop to put on 
your shoes, hurry up, hurry up" — these and similar orders 
were heard all along down the line. Officers and men, 
buckling on their belts, were everywhere hurrying from their 
tents to fall into line. 

" Captain Saunders, take your company over into the Vir- 
ginia camp and report to General Hutler," said Colonel Bur- 
dett, running up to K street. 

" Fix bayonets !" cried Captain Saunders. " Fours right, 
double time, inarch," and Company K started out into the dark 
on the run, the men knowing only that an attempt to lynch a 
negro was in progress and in a camp where most of the Con- 
necticut men had already made many friends. I have made a 
number of inquiries among the disinterested members of the 
regiment and find that the time which elapsed from the first 
sound of the drum to the moment when Company K left its 
street was not over three minutes. In the ranks were all of the 
twenty-one officers and nt)n-commissioned officers, except four, 
and forty-five men, in all sixty-two officers and men. Many 
other companies turned out as many and more men, but K was 
the first to leave its street and the first to reach the X'irginia 
camp b\' several minutes. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 265 

The men ran along the road and throiit^di tlic iniui, 
occasionally slipping down and picking their way so as not to 
injure one another with their bayonets. After crossing the new 
bridge and reaching the Virginia camp the company was 
turned into the lot and started on the run tor the hospital tents. 
General l^utler was there and at once halted the compan\- and 
ordered Captain Saunders to place under arrest three Virginians 
whom the general there had in custody. The comjian}- was 
then deployed as skirmishers, without intervals, and the 
prisoners were placed in the rear. The other companies of 
the First Regiment very soon came through the gate into the 
lot, some going to the right and some to the left. All were 
halted and then everything was still. Where the Virginians 
had gone no one seemed to know, but very shortly, over in the 
Virginia camp, was heard the bugle call "To arms" and 
about the same time the thunder storm struck us with full 
force. 

This was a new experience for the members of the First 
Regiment sureh- — to be hurried out in the dark with fi.xed 
bax'onets, the rain pelting the men in their faces and the lightning 
occasionally showing one thousand men near by, all standing 
around in the open lot, and above all to hear the hostile call 
"To arms" from a camp where discipline had ceased to exist. 
But not a word was spoken and the only indication of 
what was coming was when one of the officers came along 
the line, whispering to the men, " Have any of you got any 
bullets? " 

Possibly it was the rain, probably it was the energy of 
General Butler, but in a short time the Virginians were all 
back in their quarters, doubtless drawn together there by the 
feigned call " To arms." The First Regiment was then 
marched back to our own camp, every man of them only too 
glad to have been near enough to hear the long roll and to have 
taken part in the call. The thorough wetting was entirely over- 
looked and lost sight of in the performance of this new and 
novel duty, the prevention of a lynching bee. 

The following order was issued as the result : 
18 



266 ciikoxological. 

Heaui^uarters First Connecticut Volunteer 

Infantry, 

Camp Russel A. Alger, Virginia. 

August 9, 1898. 
Orders No. 44. 

The following letter from headquarters First Division, 
Second Army Corps, is published for the information of the 
command : — 

"To the Commanding Ofificer, First Connecticut X'olunteer 
Infantr}- : 

" Sir — The major-general commanding desires to conve\' 
to the officers and men of the First Connecticut United States 
Volunteers his satisfaction and pleasure at the promptness and 
good order with which they turned out on the night of August 
8th, in obedience to his orders. The soldier!}' conduct and 
prompt obedience to orders was most highly commendable and 

praiseworthy. 

Very respectfully, 

F. S. Strong, Ass't Adjt. General." 
The regimental commander desires to congratulate the 
officers and men of this regiment on the receipt of this letter 
and takes this opportunity to say that he hopes that their 
conduct will always merit such commendation. To maintain 
the high standard set by the conduct of both officers and en- 
listed men on this occasion requires constant and unremitting 
efTorts on the part of all and it is hoped that all will give their 
best assistance to this end and not be satisfied with the 
reputation thus gained, but by constant and unremitting 
attention to duty deser\'e commendation on all occasions. 
By Order of LiEuiENANT Colonel llA^LMoNI), 

JON.VTHAN M. WaLNWRIGHT, 

Captain and Adjutant, 

1st Conn. Vol. Infantr}-. 

The men taken prisoners were i)laced in charge of 
Corporal Dwyer and Privates Walsh, Converse and Bryant and 
were placed in the guard quarters for the night. The follow- 



CHR(,)NUL(JGICAI.. 



26- 



ing little incident must not be overlooketl. Wlun Lieutenant 
Waterman came along down the line, whispering to the men, 
''Have you got any bullets," the question was put. among 
others, to Private Barrows. His answer, of course, was that he 
had none, (which, in fact, was the case with the whole com- 
pany). Whether the suggestion of cold lead gave Private 
l^arrows a chill is not clear but certain it is that in less than a 
minute, he began to shiver and shake till his gun fell into the 
hands of one of his comrades and Private Barrows himself had 
to be carried back to the hospital tent near by for treatment. 

Tuesday, August 9. Frequent showers fell all day and 
parade at night was omitted. Rain fell nearly all night, also. 




A. 









fV^ 



^'^^!^j^^'' 







^/' 



THE DKNISON PLEASURE I'ALACE. 

but I Stuck to my bed of boughs and only got wet about the 
neck and shoulders. The poncho, however, made it like 
sleeping in an oven, it was so hot and close. 

Wednesday, August 10. Another showery day. The 
company turned in their Merriam packs to-day and drew 
blanket bags in place of them. To-night I got a shelter tent 
and hung it over the frame to my bed and slept fine. 



268 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



Thursday, August ii. The whole company, morning 
and afternoon, were detailed to dig new sinks and a hole for 
the kitchen. It was a fine day and I dried out my blanket and 
things well. 

FrH)AY, August 12. The first morning drill was a very 
long hour but the second drill was omitted and the time filled 
in putting up eight new tents. The kitchen tent had to be 
moved back also. For dinner, green corn. lieavy showers 




BUNGALOW OK l-1 1. 1 1'INOS. 
Aherii. Walsh. Uaydeii. Wiley. 

most of the afternoon and till S p. m . when the rain ceased. 
The change from six in a tent down to four is a great relief to 
the men. Several have already gone outside and built arbors 
and rustic shelter-tents for themselves. 

Saturday, August 13. Breakfast was about an hour 
!ate this morning, the first time on record. Inspection at 9 
and then no more drills for the day. One of my tent mates 
returned from the regimental hospital to-day where he has been 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 269 

a week or so. He tells mc this about \)r. Griswold. assistant 
surgeon. Every morning after sick call a long line of sick men 
appear before the assistant surgeon for treatment. This is the 
treatment they frequently got : 

"Take your hand off that tent pole. Can't you come 
here without leaning against the tent. Stand up straight. If 
you men don't stop leaning against that tent pole I will drive a 
lot of tacks in it, pointed at both ends. Now, what do you 
want. What's the matter with you this time." 

The government has been severely criticised for the 
presence in the volunteer army of a large number of inefficient 
and incompetent surgeons. But a little study will show that 
the government is not to blame but the fault lies with the 
Act of Congress bringing the volunteer army into existence. 
That law provided for the re-appointment, by the governors of 
the different states, of the regimental officers alreadx- holding 
positions in the state militia. Hence, if the state militia had 
an inefificient surgeon, the volunteer army will have, as the 
result of his re-appointment by the go\'ernor of his own 
state. The events of the evening are best related in the usual 
Sunday letter. 

Sunday August 14th. This is the letter: 

" Wilbur F. Charter of Company C, First Regiment, C. 
V. I., while on guard, was wounded in the right leg just above 
the ankle, last night by a stray bullet, doubtless fired from the 
Third Virginia camp near by. Charter enlisted from Ellington 
when the company left in May and since coming to \"irginia 
has been considerably under the weather. Last night he went 
on guard for the first time here and was in the act of facing 
about at the end of his beat when the ball, 45-caliber revolver, 
struck him in the center of the shinbone a few inches above 
the ankle, piercing the bone and lodging just under the skin 
in the rear. The bone was considerably shattered but not 
broken. 

Charter did not leave his post but called for the corporal 
of the guard, who was some time in bringing another sentinel 
to relieve him. The)' found Charter standing on one foot rest- 



2/0 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

ing his weight on his gun, the bayonet sticking in the ground. 
The post was near the guard-house and Charter was conveyed 
to the hospital where he is now resting quietly with no serious 
results to be apprehended. The stray shot was the result of 
the general celebration in all the camps near by of the 
proclamation of peace. 

The Seventh Ohio and the First New Jersey first began 
the celebration by placing lighted candles on the tops of their 
tents, six or seven hundred of them arranged in regular order, 
down the side of the hill half a mile away and overlooking our 
camp. Then they got out their drum corps and began to yell. 
The illumination was not noticed by members of the First 
Regiment till some time later, so accustomed have we become 
to the \'elling in the neighboring camps. They set up a \'ell 
at the slightest provocation. But when someone suggested, 
up at the left of our line, that we reph' to the illumination by 
doing likewise the suggestion took like wild fire and in a jifTy 
three hundred and twelve caiuiles were flickering out in the 
darkness down through our camp. The men over on the hill 
quickly recognized us and then such cheering I Pretty soon 
they began a novel scheme. The letters " O. V. I." fiarctl out 
in fire against the hillside, Ohio Volunteer Infantr}-. Men 
lined up as letters, eacli man holding a lighted candle, made 
the initials. Then the\- set up " X. J." " \'a." and finally " C. 
T." When " Va." was shown that set the V'^irginia men wild 
and they immediately began to discharge firearms, big and 
little, in all directions, with the result heretofore mentioned. 

When the initials began to ajjpcar on the liillside the 
City Guard and Company K men began to send back their 
company yells and these were heard and recognized distinctly 
over in the Penns\'lvania camp a mile or more awa}'. Then bon- 
fires were built all along clown the kitchen line of the First Regi- 
ment and pretty soon the band caught the enthusiasm, turned out 
and started along through the compau}- streets, picking up a 
bigger ami bigger crowd as the\' went. Compan_\' k, each 
man carrying a lighted candle, brought up the rear of the big 
procession and before things could be quieted down the crowd 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



271 



had visited the tents of Colonel Burdett and TJciitenant- 
Colonel Hammond, each of whom responded with a brief 
speech. It was the liveliest night in camp so far. 

The health of the regiment is improving, the cooler 
\veather and the heavy showers having a beneficial effect upon 
the spirits of the men. New sinks have been dug, better 
kitchen regulations are enforced, more thorough policing is 




tixkham's tasty ti;nt. 

Private liobcrt A. Case. 

b>eing done and altogether the First Regiment's is getting to 
be a model camp. On more than one occasion has General 
Butler expressed his pleasure at and admiration of the regiment. 
Captain H. H. Saunders of Company K was brigade 
officer of the day to-day and during his tour of duty inspected 
the Third Virginia camp. 



272 



CHRONULUGICAL. 



Eight new tents to each company have been issued and 
now only four men to a tent is the rule, instead of six. The 
men show their appreciation of their more commodious 
quarters by slicking them up, putting fancy pine arbors over 
the entrance to the tents and making themselves as tidy and 
comfortable as possible." 

The results of the signing of the protocol were extremely 
disastrous howc\-er in various wavs. Besides the woundine 




COMPANY L'S PKT. 
I?usliiii<r tilt; Growler— Full as a Goat. 

of the Company C man, Private Walsh of Compan}' K fell 
sick while on guard and a mule over at the corral north of the 
Virginia camp was killed by a stray shot. And while the 
regiineiU was serenading Colonel Burdett, the goat that belongs 
to Company L and goes wherever the company goes, seemed 
suddenly to fill with patriotism and catch the spirit of the 
occasion. When the colonel began to speak, the goat shied 
up at him full of fight, utterl\' regardless of the President's 
proclamation of peace and greatl)' to the entertainment of the 
regiment. Possibly the goat had visited the canteen once too 



CllKONOI.OGICAL. 273 

many times that night. They sa}' he gets full as a tick, some- 
times, on bottled beer. 

This personal letter follows : 

" I have just finished dinner. \Vc had roast l)ccf, boiled 
potatoes, boiled onions, string beans, bread stuffing, coffee, 
bread and cold baked beans. That ought to do for any one, 
don't you think? Our cook uses considerable salt pork in 
cooking and the salt flavors the things just right for mc. If 
the other companies in the regiment, or in any regiment in 
the whole United States army, do not fare as well as we do, it 
is the fault of their cook and not the fault of Uncle Sam. 
All get the same rations. I hope }'ou see The Courant 
regularly for some things I put in those letters I do not 
mention in the letters to you. 

I shook out my bed of boughs yesterday and dried theni 
in the sun, as the several days rain we have just had had made 
them damp. Underneath the boughs a mouse had built his 
nest and was in there, asleep, when I pulled the boughs away. 
I was sorry to disturb him and allowed him to run under the 
tent floor at his leisure. 

We have had green corn once or twice but it was cither 
field or pop corn and was pretty tasteless stuff. The farmers 
bring in milk, berries, pies, fruit, etc., so that those of us who 
get tired of army rations can buy stufT outside. My appetite 
is good and I don't care for the fancy things some long for. It 
is curious, though, how few boxes of things have been sent to 
the men since we came here. At Niantic, as I wrote j'ou then, 
every tent was filled with things sent from home till the boys were 
made sick from over eating. But since we came here and the 
whole regiment has been more or less off the hooks, scarcely a 
box has been received from home. We shall have been 
here four weeks Tuesday and but two boxes have been 
received in Company K. To sick men, boxes now are very 
welcome. 

Speaking about being off the hooks reminds me of a sign 
nearby which is somewhat suggestive under the prevaihng 
conditions. A negro, who lives some distance back from the 



2/4 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

road has this sign out in front: "Close cleaned, in the rear. 
Pants, lo cents." 

For the past two weeks we have been more or less stirred 
up by rumors, coming to us daily, of orders to move — to Porto 
Rico, to Manassas, to Newport News, to Thoroughfare Gap, to 
Sea Girt, New jersey, and several other places. One day 
drills were omitted and orders were issued to pack up to move 
but we are still here and what is more, everything indicates we 
shall stay here till we go home. More tents have been issued 
so that only four in a tent is necessary and all are planning to 
stay here till we are mustered out, which I think must be be- 
fore many more months. 

I hope the sea air is making you feel better. Since we 
left it, we are all several shades lighter." 

Monday, August 15. The company drill this morning 
was on the grounds of the Virginia camp and tlie regimental 
drill in front of the division headquarters. To-night, while I 
was on guard, a mounted Virginia officer came along the road 
near the pump and I held him up, in such a peremptory 
manner, they sa\', as to wake the whole cam[). Init he had no 
countersign and he didn't go by, till the corporal came and 
allowed him to pass. 

Tuesday, August 16. Heat intense. Sentries com- 
pelled lo pace their beats constantl)- antl not till 3 o'clock was 
1 allowed to remain at ease at my post. At retreat we stood 
" at ease " for an hour and a quarter waiting for the new guard 
to get around. 

Close to the guard quarters where a dozen prisoners were 
confined and where we all had to sleep, within twenty-five feet, 
was a sink that had been in use for a month, lacking a few 
days. The stench from that sink was so rank that, dull as m}- 
sense of smell is, I could not sleep. Apparenth- no disin- 
fectants had ever been used about the sink. 

During the da\' Major Ri)ckwcll \-isited the guard quarters 
and this is what he said to the officers of the guard. 

"Where is the officer of the da\'? I ordered that sink 
covered up and a new one dug last Saturday and here there 



CHRONOLOGICAL 



■/ 3 



has not been a thing done about it." I mention this simply to 
illustrate the inefficiency, not of any one officer of the day, but 
of the whole system of divided responsibility in vogue in the 
volunteer armw The officer ot the day on Saturday should 
have seen to the digging of the new sink. Possibl}' he and the 
prisoners had so much t(i do he did not get to it, that da\-. 
A new officer took command of the cam[) Sunda\', another on 




DIVISION HK.\I)OU.A.RTKRS, C.VMP .\I.OKR. 

Monday and so on. The duty was shifted from one to another 
till nothing was done and the sink and stink remained. 

Dr. Griswold has been detailed to division hcadciuartcrs. 
The men say " For this relief, much thanks." 

Wednesday, Auciusr 17. New routine in force to-da\- : 
Reveille, 5.15; mess call, 5.45; company drill. 6.30 to 7.30 ; 
guard mount, 8. GO; battalion drill, 8.30 to 9.30. Then nothing 
till 7 p. m. unless special call for parade at 5. 00 p. m. I dug 
out the drain from the pump to-day but wi>h I hadn't. It 
stinks worse than before. More green corn for dinner. They 
say I got away with eight ears. Be that as it may, eight ears 
more or less, I know I over-ate. Sergeant Beebe was taken with 



2/6 



CHROXOLOGICAL. 



cramps to-night. To-night Lieutenant Colonel Hammond issued 
instructions in regard to sanitary matters, our first lesson and 
\vc have been in camp here a month. 

Thursday, Augu.ST i8. Another hot day but a fine 
shower just after 7 o'clock parade. 

Friday, August 19. Very hot morning. The com- 
pan\- drill over on the Virginia camp was a tough one, extra 
long and without rests The battalion drill was not so hard. 
All other drills omitted. The hour's practice b}' squads in 




FIRE 1 I I 
Converse. Cadwell. Wiley. Kol)er. Borland. Schiilts. Wolcott. 

sighting and aiming, sup])osed to be from 4 to 5 in the afternoon, 
is now wholly omitted. 

S.\TURDAY, August 20. Inspection at 8. CO. That 
ended the duties of the day. A game of ball between the 
ofificers of the regiment and a team from Company D drew 
quite a crowd this forenoon. Private Fulton and I visited the 
division hospital this afternoon to see with our own eyes the 
horrors the yellow journals claim are being perpetrated over in 
the next lot to us. We didn't see 'em. We must have struck 
the wrong day Am- horrors. The different regimental bands 



CHRUNULOGICAL. 277 

take turns, now, and give a band concert near the hospital 
tents several times a week. 

This is The Courant letter sent home to-day : 

"The one question the men of the P'irst Rct^imcnt are 
now discussing is, "Are we going home? " All other matters 
have been dropped, no one takes any interest in them. The 
Wade provisional picnic and moonlight excursion to I'orto 
Rico, which set the whole camp wild at the time, has been for- 
gotten, now that the fighting has come to an end. The orders 
issued for moving the camp to Manassas have never been 
executed, although drills were omitted one forenoon and the 
men told to pack up their things in readiness for a move the 
next morning early. 

The plan, partially carried out, of transferring the whole 
Second Army Corps 10 Middletown, Pennsylvania, will not now 
be completed so far as the First Regiment is concerned, for word 
was received here to-day that the water supply at Middletown 
had been found insufficient, or still worse, bad from a sanitar\- 
point of view. So it goes. 

Ever since we came here five weeks ago nearlx', the men 
have been kept constantly stirred up by orders to move and 
rumors of orders to move. Not one of these orders in fact has 
been carried out and the indications all along have been against 
any real intention in the direction of moving. The only 
motive in setting such orders or alleged orders in motion seems 
to have been simply to keep the men guessing. It has given a 
subject for the men to talk about, that is about all. No, that 
is not all. It has kept scores of half sick men constantly 
under a severe nervous strain, worrying about the anticii)ated 
fatigue to be encountered during the march. 

But that, as I said, has all been forgotten now. Since 
word was sent from the War department that the men would 
have an opportunity to express their desire on the question of 
being mustered out or remaining in service, nothing else has 
been talked about. For the purpose of finding out what the 
real fc^ ling is among the enlisted men of the First Regiment I 
went Llown the line yesterday and tried to get a fair expression 



2/8 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

of feeling from the different companies. In many cases I 
talked with the first sergeants, but in all cases with the men, 
the privates, as well. This, I find to be the present sentiment 
of the regiment: — 

To the question, " Do }'ou want to serve out the two years 
or go home now?" there was practicalK- one answer, "I want 
to go home." In some companies possibly a dozen or fifteen 
men might be found who wanted to go to Cuba, Porto Rico 
or an\'whcre. They wanted at least to see what kind of a 
countr)^ it was. The\' enlisted to fight but now that there was 
to be no fighting they wanted the next best thing, a trip so 
the\' could see something outside of mere camp life and they 
were willing to do garrison dut\' for a \'ear or more in order to 
take the trip. On the other hand, in such companies as F and 
K, I could scarcely find a man who wanted to do garrison 
duty. " Do we want to spend our time in camp, earning fifty- 
two cents a day, in times of peace? No," they said, " we went 
into this business to fight and now that there is to be no fight- 
ing and peace has been declared, we want to go home." 
Possibly these two companies contain a larger proportion of 
business and professional men than any others in the regiment. 
They left lucrative professions and bright business prospects to 
see some fighting. Disappointed in that, through no fault of 
their own, to compel these men now to endure the monoto- 
nous life of a soldier in times of peace is not what the\- volun- 
teered to do, they say. 

To the question, " Would }'ou volunteer now to do 
garrison duty in Cuba for a few months, say till January 1899?" 
there was a more ready response, but still a large majority, I 
should say seventy-five per cent, of the men, said, "The war 
is over and I want to go home and if an honorable opportunity 
to go is offered, I shall accept it." 

Thus you have it. Just how the question will be sub- 
mitted to the regiment is not known, but it is understood 
Colonel Burdett will submit it in a few days, in accordance 
with the action taken in the other regiments stationed at Dunn 
Loring. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 279 

Five members of the I'^irst Regiment are now in the 
division hospital with typhoid fever but none of them is as \-et 
considered dangerously sick. The camp, from a sanitary- 
point of view, was never in such excellent condition. .Still, 
the number of deaths in the hospital, over in the ne.vt 
lot, which now numbers two or three a day, is having a 
more or less disquieting effect upon some members of the 
regiment. 

A recent death at Fort Myer of a member of the First 
Rhode Island resulted in calling upon a detail from Company 
K to attend the funeral. The detail was in charge of Sergeant 
DeLamater. The bearers were Corporals Dw\-cr and Apple- 
ton and Privates Ahern, Zoller, and IloUis. The firing party 
consisted of Corporal Carroll and Privates Ilumphrc}-, F. R. 
Denison, Marion, W. H. Brown and Gillette. Trumpeter 
Camp sounded taps, playing "lights out" most effectively. 
The burial was at Arlington but sad to relate not a member of 
the Rhode Island Regiment nor friend of the dead soldier 
followed him to the grave." 

(Accompanying this Courant letter and as a part 
of it I gave what I thought was a fair statement of the law 
under which we had been called into service and also an 
opinion, from a legal standpoint, that the volunteer army could 
not be legally held in service after a treaty of peace had been 
ratified by both countries. The law governing our enlistment, 
I wrote, provides that all volunteer officers and men " shall be 
discharged from the service of the United States when the 
purposes for which they were called into service shall have been 
accomplished." The proclamation calling for volunteers stated 
the purpose to be. to compel the government of Spain " to 
withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban 
waters," and to "relinquish its authority and government in the 
Island of Cuba." I maintained that when this had been 
accomplished and the treaty of peace had been ratified by both 
countries, the volunteer army must be discharged. This 
portion of my letter The Courant did not print, possibly 
because the editorial department of the paper had. on several 



28o CHRONOLOGICAL. 

occasions, in leading editorials, taken the opposite view. That 
letter was written August 20, 1898. 

On February 8, 1899, Attorney General Griggs published 
an opinion that the volunteer arm\' under the law, could be 
retained in service until the ratification of the treaty of peace 
had been exchanged between the two countries and no longer.) 

Sunday, August 21. My weight is one hundred and 
thirty pounds, a loss of twenty-five pounds since leaving home. 
About an hour before dinner to-day the company was ordered 
to dig a new sink. Being Sunday a detail of less than twent\' 
men was secured to do the work. Later in the day I wrote 
this letter home : 

" Xo, you have not been negligent in writing. With }-ou 
there is nothing new to write but with me there is always 
something. In fact, I guess some of my letters have been 
more long than interesting. But I am sorry to see you back 
home and feeling so miserably. The salt air usualh' agrees 
with you, don't it? But you must not worry about our going 
to Cuba or anywhere else e.xcept home. That will be the next 
place, I feel sure. Colonel Burdett appears to be red hot to 
have the rest of us do garrison duty in Cuba, in time of peace, 
but the experience of the past shows Colonel Burdett has not 
always had his way in this business. In fact, quite the con- 
trary. Ever since we came here five weeks ago lots of the 
men have been worrying about going here and going there and 
about the daily raft of orders that appear exclusively in the news- 
papers saying we were to do this and do that. When a man is 
half sick from over work or the unacclimated condition of his 
system, all this adds to his troubles. Several of the }'oung 
fellows, who are homesick into the bargain, seem to come to me 
for re-assurance and I have constantly told them we were not 
going to Porto Rico, nor to Manassas, nor to Middletown, Penn- 
sylvania. And I gave them my reasons for thinking so. So far 
the result has been, we didn't go and tlie bo}'s are begin- 
ning to give less weight to all these disturbing rumors. Vou 
see, a mo\'e means carrying a heavy knapsack, gun, haversack 
and canteen several miles in the hot sun and this to half sick 



CHKUNOLUCilCAL. 28l 

men looks big. And now I try my best to encourage the 
men that we will not move till we go back to Niantic to be 
mustered out. 

Ofcourseitis possible but hardly probable that a few 
superior officers will succeed in giving the War department a 
wrong idea of the wishes of the men in our regiment. Yester- 
day I wrote The Courant and gave a fair account of the feeling 
of the men. The governors of several states are apparently 
getting their work in and their troops sent back to the state 
camps. Nothing would please the members of the First 
Regiment more than for Governor Cooke to get it, at least, 
sent back to Niantic. I have just been called away to dig a 
new sink for the compan\'. Some twenty of us out of one 
hundred and six were all that could be found about the street 
and some of these kicked at digging clay in the hot sun on 
Sunday, but all digging is alike to me. I had rather do that 
than so much monotonous drilling. Another thing that is 
having a disquieting effect upon the men is the nearness of the 
division hospital. Over in the next lot, within stone's throw, 
are some four or five hundred men lying on cots under canvass, 
sick from various diseases. A tent has been put up close by 
our camp and two or three times a day we can see them carry 
some poor boy out there, covered with a sheet. Then, pretty 
soon, the black covered wagon drives by and goes out of sight 
and in a short time we are thinking or at least making a bluff at 
talking of something else. Four new cases of fever were 
added to the list in that lot from Connecticut this morning 
but none of the men are dangerously sick now, though 
they have been. It seems strange that a large bod}- of 
men cannot continue healthy in such a naturall}- healthy 
locality as this but so it is. The two chief causes of 
sickness, I think, is the lack of bathing facilities (men will not 
voluntarily keep clean unless they can go in swimming) and the 
lack of rigid discipline as to eating. The men are allowed to 
fill their stomachs with all sorts of stuff from tainted milk to 
unripe melons. Two of my tent mates (one has gone home, 
threatened with a fever) have made themselves sick by taking 

19 



282 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

the favorite Washington trip and gorging themselves with good 
things to eat. The human stomach, disciplined as it now is to 
army rations, cannot stand the shock. So far I have stuck to 
the camp and regular rations and am well. Don't think of 
sending me anything. I can get nice lemonade, ginger ale, 
etc., close by, for a nickel, whenever I crave it. The only 
thing I can think of I might like is a bottle of Jamacia ginger, 
to give the water a pleasant taste. The water comes from a 




THE rXLUCKV KI-EVEN. AM, SICK— ONE DIED. 



F. C. Buniell. F. M. Johnson. DeLaiiiater. 
Gale. II. L. Huntington. Bonifnte. 



Low. Eno. Wheeler. 
Beebe. Ward. 



driven well so we need no ice. It is cool enough. But you 
can't send li([uids by mail, I think, so don't mind the ginger. 

Today I have The Washington Post and The New York 
Herald and don't lack for reading, though I prefer The Sun 
to The Herald. The Sun, the New York one, doesn't shine 
in this camp, however. 

Enclosed find present routine of our dail}- duties. You 
see our drills are all over at 9.30 a. m., which is an 



ClIRONOLviGICAL. 



283 



improvement upon the previous midilax' drills. W'c are uj) 
before sunrise now. 

Since writing the above an officer who has talked with 
Colonel Burdett within a day says the colonel is not anxious 
to go to Cuba to do mere garrison duty, but is not going to 
express any desire to go home. Still, if the fever should get 
into the regiment, to any great extent, letters would begin to 
buzz about his ears pretty lively if he still failed to try to get 
us sent home. The fact is, there are a sufficient number 
among the 200,000 volunteers who want to go to Cuba to fur- 
nish all the troops needed and I think the outcome will be — 
new regiments of these will be organized and the rest of the 
volunteers will be mustered out. See if I am right." 

Monday, August 22. I went on guard at 8 a. m., on 
third relief. No. 17. This brought my beat over by the non- 




OHIU, NKW JHRSKV AM) NKW YUKK RliC I M l-.NTS STAUTINC. 
FOR THEIR I-IXAI, RKvn:w. 

commissioned staff sink. At the 6.30 A. M. drill the regiment 
passed in review twice and at the 8.30 drill the Third Virginia 
came over and both regiments went through the same man- 
oeuver twice. At 2.45 this afternoon the Seventh Ohio, First New 
Jersey and the Sixty-fifth New York marched past us on their 
way over to Camp Alger for their final review. They returned 
at 5 o'clock, the First New Jersey setting a terrible pace on 
their way back. Our regiment passed in review again at 5 



284 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

o'clock. Private Jud.son and I had adjoining posts and about 
midnight we stole close up to the tents of the non-commissioned 
staft" and sung out the hour and the " all's well " with the voice 
of a fog horn. Drum-Major Pierce had claimed, up to this 
night, that the guard never let their voices out sufficiently to 
wake him up, but this time Private Judson and I not only woke 
him up, but Sergeant Moseley and even Chaplain Kelsey 
thrust their heads out of their tents to find out what had 
broken loose. 

TUESU.W, August 23. To-day was very hot and the 
parade at 5 o'clock was omitted. This afternoon about 3 
o'clock soon after the Hartford mail had arrived, while we 
were lying out under the arbor in the shade, Colonel Burdett's 
orderly came over and asked for Private Webster who had been 
at headquarters for some time acting as stenographer. Little 
did we realize then what was in the wind, how that little cloud 
in the sky, no larger than the stenographer's hand, would soon 
sweep through the camp like a hurricane. The stenographer 
was found and this is the order dictated to him b\- Cok)ncl 
Burdett himself. 
" Headquarters P"irst Connecticut Volunteer Infantr\', Camp 

Alger, Va., August 23, 1898. 
Circular Orders No. 5. 

The commanding officer is in receipt of a marked co|)\- of 
a newspaper published in Hartford, Conn., in which attention is 
called to a statement that the P"irst Regiment Connecticut \'ol- 
unteer Infantry is anxious to go home. In order to learn 
whether the anonymous correspondents of newspapers repre- 
sent or not the men of this command the commanding oflficer 
of each company in the regiment is directed to secure b\' bal- 
lot at retreat to-day a vote on the following: 

Resolved, That the members of this command arc dc. 
sirous of retracting their oath of military service to the United 
States for two years and want to be mustered out and go home 
during the present armistice and before peace is declared. 

The compan}' commanders will also each secure b\' ballot 
the decision of the company on the following: 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 285 

Resolved, That if continuance in the militarx- service is 
left to the individual wish of the members of tlie volunteer 
army of the United States, then the members of this command 
would like the First Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantr\- 
mustered out. 

The result of their ballots, showing numbers voting, will be 
at once reported to these headquarters. 

By order of Major Hickey. 

J. M. W.MNWRic.iri', 

Captain and Adjutant." 

To say the regiment was hot when this order was issued is 
to put it mildly. But it did not take the members of our com- 
pany long to make up their minds. The result of the vote is 
as follows, two companies taking no action, and the vote on the 
two questions being substantially the same: 

Company Yes Conipiiiiy No 

A, 55 A, 18 

B, 34 B, 58 

C, 91 C, 10 

D, 66 D, 7 

E, — E, — 

F, _ F, — 

G, 50 G, 48 
H, 46 H, 46 
I. 51 I, 34 
K. 83 K, 5 
L, 8 L, 88 
M, 43 M, 46 

Total, 527 360 

Compan}' 1-^, the night before, took a vote and by 75 to 
17, voted to go home. So, on a total of less than 1,000 votes, 
the First Regiment, by 225 majority, asked to be sent home. 

The story of the vote is told in the following letter: 
"Yours of Sunday or Monday received and I tell )-ou it 
made me feel good to know that there was a power behind the 







-.Jl 



ciir(jnological. 287 

throne that might be of service, if worse came to worse. I 
shall not be slow to accept the offer, if there is no other way 
out of it, but as things are going now we shall all be back in 
Niantic soon. But I want to tell you about last night's afl'air 
and how thankful the regiment now ought to feel that fate has 
decided that we are not to go into battle with a man at the 
head who so easily loses his own. 

The Hartford mail arrives each day about 2.30 p. m. 
Yesterday a marked copy of The Post was received by Colonel 
Burdett in which was a letter from here saying the men wanted 
to go home. In a short time a stenographer from our com- 
pan}' was sent for by special messenger, the enclosed order was 
dictated, a suflficient number of copies were struck off and 
reached the different companies a few minutes before action on 
the order was required. How this action of Colonel Burdett's 
was received by the different companies I can only briefly relate. 
Company F men said the first resolution was not put fairly ; that 
they wished to retract nothing and finally took no action, claim- 
ing they did not understand the two propositions put as they 
were. Captain Newton went over to Colonel Burdett's tent and 
so reported to him. 

" What, can't understand the language of that order," said 
Colonel Burdett, sharply, "what plainer way could there be 
of putting it? That order is absolute, Captain Newton, and 
must be obeyed. Go back to your command, compel your 
men to vote upon that order and report to me at once." This, 
and much more of like nature was said and said with an 
emphasis even more than is ordinarily used by the colonel, if 
that is possible. The result was almost a mutiny in Company 
F, all but 28 men refusing to vote one way or the other on the 
questions. 

Company K took the bull (for now every one agrees the 
colonel made one) by the horns. We said that if we must 
vote on a question so unfairly put to us, we would vote to be 
mustered out during the present armistice and before peace 
was declared, even if by so doing the colonel should unfairly 
construe that action to be a retraction of our " oath." Xo 




■-~-E C-o 

= .=■ = 3 >, 



?--A1 






CITROXOI.OCICAL. 289 

fair minded man would construe an expression of our desire to 
be mustered out, now, as a retraction of our oath. So wc sent 
Captain Saunders over to see if we couitl omit action on the 
first proposition and tiie repl\' was the same ; it is an order and 
must be obeyed. We voted 83 to 5 to be mustered out and 
78 to 9 to be mustered out even if this was construed by the 
colonel to be a retraction of our oath. 

As soon as the different companies had reported, showing 
a majority of over 200 to go home, in a total of less than i ,000, 
the colonel at once called his line officers together and it is said 
there was a hot time in the old tent, till late at night. Colonel 
Burdett made a motion that the officers vote on the same reso- 
lutions, but many of the ofificers told him to his face the ques- 
tion was unfairly put to them. So much opposition was shown 
the motion was never pressed to a vote. By analw.ing the vote 
you will sec, the second call men, Companies L and M, who 
did not hear the first call, want to go to Cuba and do garrison 
duty now that peace is declared. Hut I ought not to criticise 
any one's motives. We hear their officers stood b}' and strong- 
ly intimated the men had better vote as they did. 

While most of the officers favor continuing in service, at 
their present salaries, some of them are as anxious to go home 
as the rest of us. I wired the vote to The Courant this morn- 
ing with a copy of ths order. If the order should not be 
printed, for any reason, I wish it might appear in some paper 
so that the people of Hartford could see how unfairly the 
whole matter was put. 

Speaking of the salaries of the officers, these figures may 
interest you In one company of our regiment the average 
wages earned by the men before they left home was $2.33 per 
day. The average wages of the three officers was $3.83 per 
day. While in service the men get 52 cents a day and the 
officers, on an average, $5.33, so you see the men are getting 
78 per cent, less than they were at home while the officers are 
drawing salaries 40 per cent, larger than their home income. 
These are the figures obtained from 10 1 members of one com- 
pany. If the salaries of all the officers from the colonel down 



290 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

were taken into consideration the differences between the war 
wages and the home incomes of the officers and men would be 
still more glaring. 

The Washington papers this morning say we are all go- 
ing back to our state camps and mustering out officers are be- 
ing selected. Other orders in the Commissary department look 
the same way to-day. This afternoon our brigade (Third Vir- 
ginia and First Connecticut) will march over to the old parade 
grounds at Camp Alger, two miles, for review. It is ripping 
hot and has been for two days now, but I am all right and can 
stand the sweating I guess. My weight at Xiantic, 1 50 stripped, 
is here 130, and I can squat down and almost box my ears with 
my own knees. Out back of our tent we have built a pine ar- 
bor and these days the shade is appreciated. 

What is the reason for The Courant's attitude in contin- 
ually saying we are anxious to serve out the two years? " 

Here is another home letter covering the same subject: 
"Tablets and letter of yesterday received. The former have 
already gone to the spot and are just what I wanted. For sev- 
eral days I have been squandering five or ten cents a day of 
my 52 cent salary on lemonade from the Virginia camp, but 
the tablets are just as good and saves me a walk of one-quarter 
of a mile or so in the hot sun, besides. Your letter did my soul 
good, I tell you. I might have known you would begin and 
hustle for us, but I wasn't looking for it when I wrote. But I 
must tell you more about the order Colonel Burdett issued and 
how the officers express themselves about it. Yesterday morn- 
ing I wired the order and the vote to The Courant. Soon after 
dinner Acting Brigadier-General Burdett sent his orderly, 
with his compliments, to me and said he wanted to see me 
at his tent. I went in my shirt sleeves. No one pretends to 
wear his blouse except at dress parade. 

Colonel Burdett received me all right and at once asked 
" Have you made any use of that matter of last night?" (he 
knew I was The Courant correspondent) I said I had. 

"Didn't I tell you not to send an\ thing to the news- 
papers till I had seen it?" I replied that I understood 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 291 

him to refer to such orders as had not yet been published, but 
that this order had been published throughout the camp. 

"But how did you get a copy? Did Captain Saunders give 
you a copy?" I repHed no, but didn't disclose how I got the 
copy. 

"But how did you get the result of the vote? That has 
not been published." I said the result of the action of each 
company had been given out to the men and the men simply 
compared notes. 

" Well, how would you like to have it published that 
K had a dozen men sick in the hospital with venereal 
diseases, if such should happen to be the case ; how 
would you like to have that published? This is such a case. 
I didn't want that order published." Then I told him here- 
after I would send nothing till I had seen him first. 

" Oh, well," he replied with a tired expression, " hereafter 
there will be nothing that I shall care a damn about." Then I 
went away. 

At the officers' meeting, held later that night, Colonel 
Burdett made a motion that the officers vote on the same reso- 
lutions that the men had. This motion was seconded and the 
motion was about to be put when Major Schulze objected to 
the officers voting on the resolution so worded. He expressed 
himself so strongly, and so many other officers did the same 
that the vote was not taken at all. Major Rockwell, Captain 
Laubscher, Captain Newton, Captain Moore and one or two 
other officers have expressed themselves to me as strongly as 
did Major Schulze. There are rumors of three resignations 
among the officers since the order was issued, but these may be 
for business reasons. Colonel Burdett now says President 
McKinley asked him to get an expression of opinion from his 
men. He also says he does not want to go to Cuba for gar- 
rison duty. Bah ! Captain Saunders has told us to hand in 
our applications for discharges in a few days, giving our rea- 
sons, intimating that he will approve those who give good 
reasons; but the discharge itself, in case it can be granted, 
must come from the colonel, so you see how I am fixed. 



292 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

Review was omitted yesterday on account of the heat. 
To-day is much cooler." 

One of the Washington papers stated a few days ago that 
Colonel Burdett had a conference at the War department lasting 
three hours and when he left the department was unable to 
determine whether he wanted to go to Cuba or not. This I 
get from home from one who ought to know: " Colonel Bur- 
dett expects his men to stand by him till his personal ambition 
is satisfied." This is what he says in an interview in The 
Times : 

" Colonel Burdett, after returning from Washington, 
where he had a consulation with the authorities, in company 
with General Butler, General Plume and General Gobin, drew 
up two resolutions for the men to sign. One of these reso- 
lutions expressed the desire of the men to be mustered out of 
the service. The other resolution stated that those who signed 
it wished to retract the oath which they took on entering the 
service. The resolutions were presented to the regiment by 
Major Hickey, who was acting colonel in the absence of 
Colonel Burdett, who was acting brigadier-general. Had 
Colonel Burdett been in command he would have presented 
the resolutions himself to the regiment. President McKinley, 
himself, is primarily responsible for the men wishing to be sent 
home. He had a statement published in the newspapers that 
in the mustering of volunteers out of the service of the United 
States the wishes of the men would be considered. The 
President, who has acknowledged responsibility for the appear- 
ance of this statement in the papers, tempted the men to ask 
to be mustered out of service." 
The Courant has this: 

" The impression seems to have prevailed that Colonel 
Burdett was in favor of having the First Regiment detained in 
the service until the two years' enlistment of the men expired. 
A private letter from one of the ofificers says: ' He told me 
that, together with the commanding officers of the other two 
brigades of this division, he had an interview with the President 
and made the strongest claims possible for our muster out.' " 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 293 

So now you have it. He wants to go to Cuba. TIo don't 
want to go to Cuba. The resolutions speak for themselves, 
however. He dictated them, he ordered them presented to the 
regiment and was present and in command when it was done. 
Major Hickey did not present them to the regiment, I'he 
Times interview to the contrary notwithstanding. If they 
were not intentionally so worded by Colonel Burdett, for the 
purpose of having them voted down, then I don't understand 
the English language. A more unfair advantage was ne\-er 
exercised over a body of men than Colonel l^urdett tried to 
enforce over the First Regiment. But he failed to carr\- his 
point. 

Wednesday, August 24. I hustled over to division 
headquarters this morning early and wired The Courant the re- 
sult of the vote last night. Another brigade parade from 8.30 
to 9.30. Very hot to-day, too. We were under orders to march 
to Camp Alger for review this afternoon, but the order was 
countermanded on account of the heat. There was a fine elec- 
trical display in the western sky to-night, but the storm itself 
went around. 

Thursday, August 25. Colonel Burdett received a nice 
little call down this morning from General Gobin at division 
headquarters. A member of K, who heard it, told me. 
The Washington Post had just reached camp with the fol- 
lowing about the First Connecticut: 

"The subject of mustering out has caused considerable 
hard feeling in the ranks of the First Connecticut. This regi- 
ment is brigaded with the Third Virginia, constituting the 
second brigade of the third division. (jeneral Gobin's com- 
mand properly embraces only the first division, but the second 
brigade belonging to this command was sent to Cuba and so 
the second brigade of the third division was substituted in its 
place. The latter therefore fear that the telegram of General 
Corbin is meant only for the first and the third brigades and will 
not include the second division. The colonel of the \'ankee 
regiment is believed to be very anxious for further service on 
Cuban soil and he, together with members of his staff and 



294 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

other officers, are said to be making strenuous efforts to con- 
vince their boys that Cuba is "just the thing." When a vote 
on the subject was taken, night before last, the feeling of the 
two factions became very strong, indeed. A paper published 
in Hartford, Conn., had stated that the regiment was anxious 
to go home and accordingly Colonel Burdett decided to sub- 
mit the question to a vote. In so doing he phrased the ques- 
tion in such a fashion as to excite open hostility. His order 
requested the men to vote whether they were desirous of "re- 
tracting their oaths of military service to the United States for 
two years," which appeared to some privates, who had no idea 
of retracting any oaths and merely wished to petition for dis- 
missal, as decidedly unfair. 

As soon as the order was read it became the subject of a 
heated discussion. Excited groups of privates stood about in 
the company streets, condemning the expression about retrac- 
tion of oaths in the severest terms. The two questions were 
practically the same, they said, and the purport of the first was 
really to force the privates to vote in the negative on both. 
One of the captains even went to the colonel to explain the 
difficulty discovered in his peculiar phraseology. 

Finally, when the vote was taken, one company simply 
ignored the order and refused to cast any ballot whatsoever. 
Another company answered the second question in the affirma- 
tive, but emphatically refused to consider the first question. 
With the two questions remaining as they stood, it was found 
that 527 votes were cast in the affirmative favoring dismissal 
with 360 in the negative, the balance of the regiment present 
refusing to participate in the ballot. The members of the 
First Connecticut thus showed a decided preference for dis- 
missal. They fear, nevertheless, that owing to the influence 
of their officers, their vote will avail them but little." 

Evidently General Gobin had just read the article in The 
Washington Post. 

" Colonel Burdett," he said, upon meeting him in the main 
office, " you did a ver\- unmilitar}' thing in issuing that order 
the other night." 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 295 

"But, general," replied Colonel Burdett, "there has been 
a boil in the regiment lately and I thought I would probe it 
and see what there was in it." 

" Well," replied General Gobin, as the two passed into 
another room out of hearing, " whatever your reason was it 
was a very irregular thing to do and if your men cause you any 
trouble, hereafter, if they are guilty of insubordination, you 
yourself will be to blame for it." 

Our brigade was reviewed and passed in review this morn- 
ing from 8.30 to 9.30. Private Walsh has gone to the division 
hospital. He is pretty sick. Privates ¥. C. Burncll and 
Webster are also at the regimental hospital. High wind and 
rain this afternoon blew down the Y. M. C. A. and several 
other tents. Corporal Low's " lean to " arbor, ne.xt to ours, 
also fell in ruins. To-night the third battalion received 
orders to do provost duty. Our company goes to East 
Falls Church. These items are from The Times correspondent 
signed " V" : 

" On Monday last the first division of Major-General 
Graham's command left here for Manassas, Virginia, and are 
now camped on the ground where was fought the battle of Bull 
Run. It was intended to send the First Connecticut Volun- 
teers to the same camp and accordingly we received orders to 
pack and hold ourselves in readiness to move there on Sun- 
day, but that order has also fallen through and now the boys 
refuse to believe any further orders concerning our departure 
from our ' cornfield camp.' " 

" On Monday evening last our First Regiment Band went 
over to the Virginia camp and there serenaded our comrades 
of war. For an hour the band played, each patriotic selection 
bringing an echo of cheers from one end of the camp to the 
other. To add the comfort of sound to that of scene and rest, 
the band of the Seventh Ohio began to play, softly at first, 
then in one swelling measure and although the tunc chosen 
was the well-known " Washington Post March" never did 
music sound more sweetly and to the minds of the listeners it 
brought thoughts of the home coming and the march through 



296 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



troops of friends and then a silence fell, through which stole 
that sweetest yet saddest of military bugle calls, " taps." 

" On Tuesday evening. Private Tinkham, Company K, 
brought home a small cherry tree and planted it at the 
entrance to his abode and judging from its growth of a few 
days, we may have cherry pie before we leave here." 

Friday, August 26. Up at 5 a. m. After breakfast w^e 
set fire to the arbor which for so many days has kept the 
sun's heat from us, applied a torch to the kitchen, struck 




WII.Iv RUIJT'S TRKK KVEK TAK1-: ROUT? 
Fowler. Kirkley. Koot. Hall. 

camp and at 9.30 left the old corn field for good, we hope. 
The route to East Falls Church was by Dunn Loring and 
along side the tracks part of the way and part of the time 
along the highway. The pace set by Captain Saunders was 
too lively, even for him, and the march unnecessarily sweat 
the men through and through. But we reached the camp 
grounds ahead of the mule teams with the baggage and had 
dinner by I o'clock. The detail from the Sixty-fifth New 
York left soon after we arrived. The following incident must 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



>97 



not be overlooked, for this is a true history. For some time 
before we left that old corn field members of the company 
began missing their spoons. The mystery probably would 
never have been solved had not Corporal Sanderson gone 
home on a sick furlough. He is still away, but this morning 
his tent mates overhauled his haversack for the purpose of re- 
packing it when out rolled seven government spoons. For 
him that means the guard tent. For us, the lesson is, to more 
closely guard our tents. 

Saturday, August 27. The first thing this morning 
was to dig a kitchen sink. I went on guard at the station 
at 3 p. m. I guess we are going to have a snap here. 
Private Dimock has gone to the hospital. 

Sunday, August 28. This morning the Missouri relief 
train, Pullman cars conveying home their sick soldiers, went 
by early. Corporal Gruener and I, after being relieved from 
guard, visited the old Episcopal church at Falls Church 
this afternoon. Corporal Sanderson returned to-night and 
is unable to explain the presence of so many spoons in his 
haversack. 

Monday, August 29. Corporal Gruener and I took the 
trolley for Washington at 9 o'clock and went by boat to Mount 
Vernon. Returning at 2 we visited the capitol and congres- 
sional library and got back to camp at 6.30. The heat was in- 
tense. 

Tuesday, August 30. I went on guard at Aqueduct 
Bridge at 2.30 this afternoon. Slept, or tried to sleep, in the 
car shed on some boards, but the heat and the mosquitoes 
put a stop to all that — passed a most miserable night. This 
is the letter sent home before going on guard : 

"Last Friday our battalion, the third, was ordered to do 
provost duty about Camp Alger and four companies of us 
broke camp, took everything with us and we marched over to 
East Falls Church, about four miles. The other three com- 
panies are located at different points, one or two miles from 
here. The other eight companies of the regiment, of course, 
are still in that old corn field. 



298 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



Our camp is in a vacant lot within stone's throw of the 
end of the Washington and Falls Church trolley line and the 
railroad station of the Southern railroad. Half hourly trips 
to Washington can be taken all da\-, till midnight. About a 
mile west is Falls Church. The old Episcopal church, built in 
1766 of brick brought from England, is still used for religious 
purposes. It was used as a horse stable during the Civil war 
and was frequently in temporary possession of Mosby's cavalry. 
The country is rolling, well cleared but sufficiently wooded to 




STATION AT EAST KAI.I.S CHURCH, VIKC.INIA. 

make the outlook from the side hill where we are located, a 
beautiful one. Yesterday I was off dut\' and went to Washing- 
ton, Mount Vernon, saw the capitol and library, but of course 
did not try to do much else. Our duty, once in three days, is 
to watch all trains and see that all uniformed men have passes. 
One day here and three days from that time at the Aqueduct 
Bridge opposite Georgetown, ten miles from here, is our tour 
of dut)', so you see liow easy we have it. The weather is now 
delightful. 

Don't get carried off your feet by the wild, almost insane 
howl raised b\- the newspapers against the War department. It 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 299 

is a return, in another form, of the crazy cry for the recognition 
of Cuban independence which President McKinley so stoutly and 
successfully stood out against. There has to be sure been a 
great amount of sickness in Camp Alger as in all the other camps, 
but whether a greater percentage than in our last war I can't 
say. I have faith to believe it is much less. The yellow jour- 
nal germs found no lodging place, then, in the public mind, if 
they existed at all. This I say from what I know of my own 
tent and my own company and I believe what is true there, is 
true of every company and regiment in Camp Aleer and for 




COMPANY K STREET, EAST FALLS CHT.kCH. VIRGINIA. 

that matter Camp Thomas, for both camps for six weeks now, 
have been similarly situated so far as water, soil and other 
natural surroundings are concerned. 

With such personal habits among the men throughout the 
camp is it strange the hospitals are full ? In the regular army 
the rigid discipline would scarcely allow a man to live as do 
some in our company, for instance, but discipline in the vol- 
unteer army is another thing — in fact it does not exist so far as 
personal cleanliness and healthy diet is concerned. But when 
1,300 men, with such average habits, lay down and live upon 



300 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



four acres of Virginia clay, for two or three months, is it any 
wonder sickness prevails? I figure it that we were living as 
closely together as would the inhabitants of a city of 200,000 
people crowded into a district a mile square. Some regiments 
had less land than we had. When you stop to think that all 
the impurities that the human system excretes were thrown 
out upon or into a soil, tough and about as absorbent as putty, 
you can imagine the condition of Camp Alger after three 
months. But enough of this, except to say, next to the cow- 




jack's SNORING GKOL'ND. 
Pierre. Grueiier. Campbell. Low. 

ard in battle is the cuss who kicks in camp Mrs. Julian Haw- 
thorne, who doubtless, for the time being, has forgotten to 
send flowers to the condemned criminals under her daily care, 
has now found a new object of sympathy, the hungry soldier. 
Bah I I'm a hungry soldier this very minute and am hungry 
all the time whenever I let m\- mind wander back to the good 
things at home. (I am beginning to jot down the things I 
want to eat when the time comes and I can make ni)^ mouth 
water, anytime, doing it.) I lived two da\-s, once, on nothing 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 3OI 

but a piece of hardtack and came out the better for it. She 
has also found men lying on the ground at Camp Wikoff. 
Why, I have slept on the ground, out in the rain, for six weeks 
and am better off for it, much better than in a tent with six 
stinking men. All men, however clean at home, will stink in 
a tent in such a climate as this. Besides, in all camps you will 
find men who will lie down in their tents and rot rather than 
raise a hand to make themselves more comfortable, to say 
nothing of keeping more clean. 1 have seen men threatened 
with the guard house because of the filthy condition of their 
tents — conditions that ten minute's work would remedy. I 
have no doubt there has been much incompetency in the War 
department, for an army cannot be suddenly increased ten fold 
in all its departments w-ithout some new material being found 
not up to the standard. But the chances are, in nine cases out 
often, these sniveling women and yellow reporters have struck 
the company kicker and taken his lies and exaggerated state- 
ments for law and gospel. But I must stop. 

There is a house within fifty feet of my tent and you don't 
know how funny it sounded the other night to hear a clock 
strike. Jack is with us and has lived through the hot weather 
all right. You remember that at Portland cats were our first 
or original pets. We have had two dogs in the street for some 
time now and last night one of them presented us with six 
bright little bull terriers. Two others were born dead. All 
are doing as well as could be expected. Eight regiments only 
are now here and these are beginning to leave for their state 
camps. Hope to write you from Niantic in a couple of weeks 
or so." 

Wednesday, August 31. Very hot morning. Was not 
relieved for breakfast till 9.30. During the forenoon some 
Washington women came along in a carriage distributing sweet 
cakes to the men. The ha\' fever has tackled me hard to-day. 
Am losing my appetite for army rations. Baked beans alone 
taste good now. Corporals Uwyer and Ward and Privates 
Dimock and F. C. Burnell have been sent home sick. Those 
home on furloughs more or less ailing, are Sergeants Beebe 



302 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



and Boniface and Privates Barrows, Hayden, Bassett and R. 
A. Case. 

Thursday, September i. Again very hot. My hay 
fever is worse. Corporal Gruener and I visited the Navy yard, 
the Congressional Library and the White House to-day and 
availed ourselves of the free luncheon provided by some good 
women on F street. To-night the weather had so changed 
that blankets were very comfortable. 

Friday, September 2. Notwithstanding the cold night 
the heat to-day is again intense. To-night Private Tinkham 




IS I'K Al. 1 Kill 

W. (' .Idhiisoii. 



Wli.-elock. W. (' .Idhiisoii. Appl.toii. 

went to work in his father's vine\'ard or rather tried to W(^rk 
the grape vine belonging to the father of some one else. The 
old man was literally on to him, as the soiled trousers which 
Private Tinkham wore home too plainly testified. He says 
they were only sour grapes anyway. This is the letter I sent 
to The Courant to-day: 



CHRONOLOGICAL 



303 



" Now that the First Regiment, Connecticut Vohinteer 
Infantry, has been ordered home to be mustered out later, 
some facts in regard to the physical condition of the men and 
the causes for the great amount of sickness among them may 
not be uninteresting. The regiment has now been out four 
months. Part of this time was taken up with coast defense 
duty in the invigorating climate of Maine, but during the past 
seven weeks the regiment has been at this camp, surrounded 




M. A. Pierce. 



Jos. Burnell. 



IJarker. 



by the same conditions that have affected all other regiments 
of the Second Army Corps. In fact, so far as the natural 
surroundings have had an influence, the twenty-five thousand 
men here and the fort)' thousand men at Camp Thomas have 
been brought under practically the same. The soil in both 
places is of clay, a tough, putty-like substance into which the 
rain soaks but an inch or two. Thiow dirty water out upon it 
and the water quickly evaporates, leaving the sediment upon 
the surface to dry in the sun and blow about in the breeze. 



304 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

riie surface of the soil and for a few inches below soon be- 
comes filled with filth which the heavy rains tail to wash 
away. A cloud burst upon a field of putty would have as 
little cleansing effect. In fact, it has been frequently noticed 
in digging up the soil round about the camp how much like an 
old sink drain the surface clay smells when disturbed. 

Then again the water supply in Camp Thomas and Camp 
Alger is principally from driven wells. The water is so im- 
pregnated with minerals as to, at first, very generally have a 
serious effect upon the bowels. Upon such a soil and supplied 
with such water, the First Regiment, seven weeks ago, went 
into camp in excellent physical condition. To-day typhoid 
fever has made its appearance among the ranks, many are 
home on sick furloughs and the whole regiment has a per- 
ceptibly weakened vitality. What is the cause? 

First, the men have not kept their bodies clean. In the 
regular army and in the navy the rules regarding personal 
cleanliness are rigidly enforced. This is expected and no one 
complains, but what a howl would go up if these rules were 
adopted in the volunteer army ! Imagine a free American 
citizen soldier being told to wash his face and hands once a 
day ! The average volunteer would kick in a minute. Yet, 
here in Camp Alger, the men come in two or three times a 
day from drills, covered from head to feet with fine clay dust 
and salt, poisonous perspiration, which is rareh' washed off but 
allowed to dry on the surface of the body. 

Let me illustrate by describing one tent of six that I 
happened to know about. No. i, while in the habit of wash- 
ing his face and hands once a day at least, rarely washed his 
whole body. It was altogether too troublesome to take a 
body bath in the confines of a pail or wash basin when a bath 
tub and big bath room were found none too large to splash 
around in at home. A big dinner in Washington and a walk 
in the hot sun brought on a fever and a sick furlough was the 
result. No. 2 never washed his body, but regularly put on 
new under clothing and threw the soiled garments away. In 
time the stock of new clothing gave out and then No. 2 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 305 

claimed it was no use to take a body bath fur he had nothin<,f 
but dirty under clothing to put on again. So, from neglecting 
to wash his body, he soon omitted to wash his face and hands 
for several days at a time. Finally, driven out of his foul- 
smelling under clothing, No. 2 took a bath and took cold at 
the same time and is now in the hospital, threatened with 
t}'phoid. 

No. 3, a fine college athlete, regularly washed the surface of 
his body, but neglected this for a (cw days, ate a big Wash- 
ington dinner, crowded it down with a supper of army rations 
(beefsteak and onions), was taken sick before morning and is 
now off duty. No. 4 consistentl)' kept his bod\' clean but sur- 
prised his stomach, disciplined as it had been so long to the 
plain army rations, with a Washington table d'hote. His stom- 
ach could not stand the shock and No. 4 was on the sick list 
next day. No. 5 took a body bath every night before turning 
in, resisted the temptations of overeating and is well. No. 6 
is also well and has been. Thus in one tent four out of 
six have made themselves sick by neglecting to observe the 
ordinary duties imposed by plain common sense. 

Why, I have seen men, until threatened with the guard- 
house, lie in their tents for days, refusing to sweep out the 
accumulated dirt or clean up after the last meal, leaving their 
uniforms, guns, blankets, etc., to become partially imbedded in 
the filth. One day a gun was found in the back of one of 
these tents so covered with mud and rust that the chamber 
could not be opened. Instances like the above could be mul- 
tiplied indefinitely, but the fact is apparent to any one with 
eyes and a nose that the average volunteer in Camp Alger has 
not kept himself clean. If typhoid fever is essentiall\- a filth 
disease, the personal habits of the men have given it an abid- 
ing place. 

Second, the men have not made the most of the rations 
furnished them. To each company of one hundred and six 
men in the entire volunteer army has been issued the same 
amount and the same kind of rations. If these have not been 
made to go as far in some companies as in others, the fault is 



306 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

not in the rations issued but in the company cook. If men in 
camp have gone hungry (and the papers have been filled with 
scores of such alleged cases) the fault is with the cook selected 
by the company itself. The First Regiment since it went into 
service four months ago has gone into camp twice at Niantic, 
once in Maine and once here at Camp Alger. It has traveled 
not far from one thousand miles. During this period not once 
have I failed to have issued to me, hot coffee and three sub- 
stantial meals a day. And yet I have no doubt that one of these 
yellow reporters or hyper-sympathetic women could find in 
our camp men who would say they were hungry, half-starved 
and made to live for days on a single hard tack. These com- 
pany kickers I have seen take their place in line, walk away 
from the kitchen with a plate full of hot rations, deliberateh' 
throw them into the swill barrel untouched and then go over 
to some neighboring fruit or cooky stand swearing " Uncle 
Sam starves his own soldiers." I can't say as to Camp Thomas, 
Tampa, Jacksonville and the other camps, but the man who 
criticises the commissary department in Camp Alger should 
have but few listeners. Next to the coward in battle the camp 
kicker is to be despised. 

One of these kickers I have now in mind. His tent mates 
say, in addition to his chronic kick against the food, he has a 
way of taking some kind of medicine just before drills which 
puts him into a high fever temporarily, thus avoiding the 
fatigues of the drill. Possibly he took an overdose, one day, 
for he is now in the hospital, genuinely sick with typhoid. 

The camp fruit stands are also another source of much of 
the sickness in camp. Men fed for weeks on army rations 
acquire a chronic hunger for outside stuff. No matter what, all 
fruits look alike to them and it all goes, unripe melons, green 
peaches and the like. Peddlers of tainted milk, rot-gut manu- 
factured cider, sour oat meal, decayed berries — all dispose of 
their stock without delay. How much sickness is due to this 
cause cannot be stated but here is a factor. 

Finally, a word as to the treatment of the sick, for there 
undoubtedly is much sickness here, whatever the cause. My 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



307 



information in this matter is necessarily second iiand, for I still 
have to take my first drop of medicine in camp. During the 
summer there have been not far from twenty-five thousand 
men in Camp Alger. Of this number some two thcnisand have 
been treated in the hospital, either at Fort Myer or the division 
hospital over in the next lot to our camp. Seventy-five deaths 
have occurred from all causes. Any one familiar with mortuary 
reports can easily calculate the death rate and how much 




"JKKRV, WiIi-:Ri;'S lINNliS?" 
Jos. Morgan. LaiKifrniuii. Saiidner. Jer. Morgan. Ttii>in]ir-()ii. 

above the normal it is. I doubt if in any tenement district 
human beings were crowded together as closely as we arc, the 
rate would be much lower or as low. From the figures and 
distances used in laying out the camp I compute that the 
average regiment here lives upon an area of the earth's surface 
equal to that of a city of two hundred thousand inhabitants 
crowded into a district a mile square. When the amount of 



3o8 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



excrement which every one of these twenty-five thousand men 
throws off every day is taken into account, together with the 
lack of care in eating and the absence of cleanliness in living, 
the wonder is, I think, that so few are sick. I took a walk 
through the hospital grounds one day and to the unprofes- 
sional eye the impression was that much of the criticism of the 
hospital was not founded in fact." 

Saturday, Seitemher 3. Four months ago to-dav I 




PICK.\NINNV I'ASTIME. 

weighed 155 pounds. To-day I weigh 32^/2 pounds less. 
This afternoon I stripped off down in the barn and used the 
hose on myself. The cold well water made me feel fine. Pay 
day to-day, $15.60 for the month of August. At retreat to- 
night Sergeant Holt, being the senior officer in command of 
the camp, ordered the company to " Fall in for roll call." 
Private Thayer, the only other member of the company of one 



CIIRONOLOGICAI.. 



309 



hundred and six men in camp at the time, fell in, dressed up 
to the right and came to attention. *' Private Thayer " yelled 
the commandant of the company. "Here" answered the 
private. He hadn't missed a roll call yet and didn't intend to 
if he could help it. " Parade-e-e rest " and the company stood 
with slightly bowed head as the members of the guard slowly 
lowered the flag. Sergeant Holt assayed to softly sing the 
" Star Spangled Banner " as the flag came down but the lu- 
dicrousness of the whole affair was so complete that he and the 
whole company both threw di'^cipline to the dogs and burst 




SIPFER AT EAST 1 AEI.S CmRCH, VIRGINIA. 

into a roar of laughter. The absence of the rest of the com- 
pany can be explained by recalling the fact that it was pay 
day night and Captain Saunders had given the boys the free- 
dom of Washington. They missed a fine supper, however, 
which "Mac" had prepared for them — rice pudding with 
raisins and sweet potatoes besides bread and coffee. 

Sunday, September 4. For breakfast, lamb chops ; for 
dinner, clam chowder; for supper, bologna, cold sweet 
potatoes and a picked up supper. This is the way " Mac" is 
setting 'em up for us now but the hay fever for the last week 
has knocked m\' appetite so I don't enjoy the feast much. 



3IO CHRONOLOGICAL. 

This forenoon I took a walk down around Fort Skeedaddle 
and this afternoon went up into Grossman's grove at the end 
of the trolley line and went to sleep. The company is thinning 
out, so many are home or on the sick list. All the guards 
have been called off except on the company street. 

Monday, Septemher 5. For breakfast, eggs on toast; 
for dinner, lamb and boiled onions ; for supper, baked beans 
and cheese, bread and coffee as usual. At 6.30 a. m. we were 
ordered to be ready to move at 8 a. m. At 7 we were ordered 
to wait for the wagons before we all could take a ride. At 
8.30 we were ordered to stay around till orders were received. 
At 9.30 we were ordered to pack up at once. At i p. m. the 
order was to strip the tents; at 2.30 to put the things back 
into the tents where they stayed during the rest of the day. 
It came off cooler to-night and the boys got together in the 
waiting room of the trolley station and sang over the old songs 
with fine effect. 

Tuesday, September 6. At 3 o'clock this morning a 
volunteer detail from the company were taken in a team, hired 
by Captain Saunders, over to the division hospital and helped 
carry the sick men of our compan}- over to the train at Dunn 
Loring. The following sick members of our company were 
sent home in a Pullman train : Privates Walsh, Eno, Converse, 
D. H. Brown, Sherman and Sobieralski. In all, twenty-six 
men from the First Connecticut went home on the train, sick. 

For breakfast, griddle cakes. Another terrifically hot 
day and we all worried about the anticipated march over to 
Dunn Loring, loaded down with baggage. Trumpeter Camp 
was presented with a new trumpet, Sergeant S. G. Huntington 
making the presentation speech for the company. 

At 1 1 o'clock we struck our tents, the whole street falling 
together. After loading the baggage and getting dinner we 
waited around in the shade. The welcome order came that we 
were to go by train to Dunn Loring. We did so, at 1.37 p.m. 
Private Zollcr, who refused to go home with the other sick boys 
on the Pullman train, had a hard time of it getting over to the 
station with the rest of us. He is a pretty sick man. On 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



311 



reaching Dunn Loring we marched over to the north of the 
station near some trees and unloaded the baggage, when it 
came. No tents were put up but the men slept around on the 
ground. 

I went on street guard, from 7.30 to 9.30 and from i r.30 
to L30 a. m. Didn't get much sleep between reliefs either but 
when I could I laid out on a pile of tents. The night before, 
at East Falls Church, I also slept very little, " Mrs Gale " and 
her pups who tented next to us had so many visitors during 




STATION AT DUXX LORING, VIRGINIA. 

the night. The manner in which she bid them depart was 
more ferocious than friendly, hence I slept little during their 
farewells. But, once more we could hear the band and the 
bugle calls over in that old corn field and occasionally a yell. 
To-day the company is " shy " sixteen men, all on the sick- 
list. In the whole company only eleven have so far escaped 
being sick since we left home. 

Wednesday, September 7. Most of us were up at 5. 
I had crackers and milk for breakfast. Orders issued to be 
ready to march at 8. I went up into the woods back of the 



31 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



camp but could not fall asleep. When the empty passenger 
cars began to arrive there was some slight cheering but how 
different wc feel, now that we are actually going home, from 
the way we thought we should weeks ago, when we first began 
to long for this very moment. Then, had the order been 
issued, we should have yelled for joy. Now that it has actualK- 
come the men are listless and without life, apparently caring 
ver}' little whether we go or stay. This feeling of inertia and 




LEAVING FOR HOME. 

TAKING THE TRAIN AT DUNN CORING, VIRGINIA, 
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 7, 1898. 

listlessness has been growing on the men ever since the peace 
proclamation. We are all losing interest in everything per- 
taining to our duties here. The first and second battalions 
began to come in sight about 1.30, a big cloud of dust following 
them. But there was no cheering. After they had gone, we 
finally, at 3.30, left Dunn Loring on our way home, a heavy 
shower striking us just as we were taking the train. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



313 



On arriving at Washington we left the train and had lun- 
cheon up in a small hall as the guests of the Aid Society of the 
Pension Office. We left Washington at 6.15, getting a view of 
a fine sunset just outside of the city. At the Baltimore tunnel 
we were nearly suffocated again, the glass in the car doors 
having been broken completely out somewhere, before wc took 
the train. At Wilmington we had some good coffee and reached 
Philadelphia at 1 1.30. 

Thursday, September 8. Arriving at Jersey Cit\- about 
sunrise, we started around New York City to Harlem River. 
Before we had gone under the Brooklyn bridge the whistles of 
all the crafts, big and little, in East River began to blow us ofT 
or acted as if they would if they could and from there clear to 
the dock at Harlem the people of Hogan's Alley, the Island 
and all along the New York front welcomed us home with 
bells, flags and handkerchiefs. From every tenement house 
window for miles out popped the heads and away to the morn- 
ing breezes were flung aprons, table clothes, towels and any old 
thing that came handy, in the absence of the dear old flag, 
which, not infrequently, itself was brought forth from some 
sacred corner and waved at us triumphantly. 

At 9.45 we once more felt ourselves moving, none too fast, 
under the pull of a powerful locomotive. At New Haven, where 
we had some good coffee, at 11.30, very few were on hand to 
welcome us (doubtless because our coming was so uncertain) 
and after half an hour's stop we started for Niantic which place 
we reached at 2 p. m. We marched at once to the old camp 
ground and pitched our tents on the grass near the sea coast 
battery. A dress parade was at once ordered but owing to the 
condition of the men this order was finally counter-maiuied. 
Before turning in I took a short swim in the salt water and 
rinsed off under the pump. O, how good it felt and then did'nt 
I sleep fine, so fagged out had I become ! 

P. S. Jack Brutus, "Mrs. Gale" and the three "Misses Gale"' 
stood the trip fairly well. This is the postal I sent home on 
our arrival : 



314 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

" We had hardly stacked guns before your telegram wel- 
coming me to God's country was handed me, here. Talk about 
this being God's country, why we fairly laid down and kissed 
the green turf here, it looked so good, after so many weeks in 
that Virginia corn field with the thermometer lOO or over. It 
was frequently 1 12 in our tents. We hope to go home to-mor- 
row (Friday) but ma\' not till Saturday but your invitation is 
accepted if I have to walk to get there." 

Friday, September 9. The air this morning was simply 
fine. To-night it was so cold sleeping on the ground that 
many could not keep warm. This is the letter I sent to The 
Courant : 

" The First Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, 
slept on the old camp grounds here last night and a great 
night's sleep it was, too. The night was clear and almost cold 
enough for a frost and the air was simply great — that is the 
only word suf^ciently expressive, just now. The men for eight 
weeks had breathed nothing but lifeless air, had eaten nothing 
with a relish, had slept on nothing, in many cases, but Vir- 
ginia clay upon which grass had long since ceased to grow. 
The thermometer, for forty-four days, had been 90 and over, 
the hottest summer on record, in that vicinity. After thus 
perspiring for two months and finally surviving such surround- 
ings, to lie down last night on a bed of thick green turf and 
breathe in the cold, frostx' air, was simply heaven. Actualh', 
the men said they felt like getting down on their knees and 
kissing the fresh clean grass, it looked so good to them. 

The men this morning woke up happy, for the first 
thought was " We are going home, our work is most over." 
The men also woke up somewhat refreshed, but it will take 
many a night like last night to bring the men back to life 
again. The eight weeks in camp ending in a rapidly increas- 
ing sick list, the marches to and from the train and the broken 
rest of the previous night on the way home, had left the whole 
regiment in as near a physical collapse as it well could be. A 
guard mount wliich followed immediately on our reaching here 
showed some of the heretofore toughest men in the regiment 



CHRONOLOGICAL 



315 



unable to stand steady. But everyone was cheerful, for we 
had been ordered home to rest and recuperate a little before- 
being finally mustered out. 

Imagine the feeHngs of the men then, when the following 
order issued from headquarters soon after breakfast : 

Company drills from 7.30 to 8.30 a. m. 

Battalion drills from 9.30 to I 1.30 a. m. 

Battalion or regimental drills from 2.30 to 4.00 p. m. 

Dress parade from s 30 to 6.00 p. m. 

F'lve hours of marching and drilling a day for men sent 
home to rest and recuperate ! Had an order issued from the 
skies it would not have been received with more surprise. Its 
effect was to bring the men down out of the heaven they had 
been in, for a few hours, in short order. Furthermore, the 
statement has come from those within earshot of headquarters 
that we are not to receive our furloughs for two weeks or more 
and the daily five hour drills are to be strictly executed in the 
meantime. Nor will there be any individual passes issued to 
return home even fur an hour — home, so near and yet, as it 
now seems, so far. 

The Third Regiment left this afternoon for Camp Meade, 
Middletwon, Pennsylvania. The First Regiment turned out to 
see them off, the Third going in the same cars in which the 
First came. 

Another order has been issued which is being scverel\' 
criticised by those competent to judge in the matter and that 
is, that the First Regiment, which now occupies new and pleas- 
ant grounds on the south side of the camp, far from the sinks 
and near to the bathing grounds, shall move over to the spot 
now vacated by the Third Regiment. When it is understood 
that the Third Regiment has been here three months or more 
and that the floors and ground beneath have become filled and 
saturated with the accumulations of these three months, the 
wisdom of moving the First Regiment over there can well be 
doubted. 

Yesterday afternoon, within an hour after the arrival of 
the last section of the regiment, a dress parade was ordered 



3l6 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

but through the vigorous kick of one of the field officers the 
parade was omitted. This morning, at the company drills, 
some of the officers only tacitly consumed the entire three hours 
at drill but very humanely gave the order "rest" at frequent 
and for none too long intervals. Many of the companies of 
one hundred and six men had but four fours out at drill, not 
one-third of the full number. It is said the delay in the grant- 
ing of furloughs is due to the fact that all government property 
accounts must be straightened out and receipts obtained before 
the men leave the grounds." 

Saturday, September io. Another fine day. Inspec- 
tion ordered. Inspection omitted. The whole regiment, instead, 
was ordered out to clean up the grounds recently deserted by 
the Third Regiment preparatory to moving over there. The 
men of the first battalion refused to obey the order but The 
Courant Sunday letter best tells the story of the day. The first 
letter sent from here so disturbed the commandant of the regi- 
ment that he ordered Captain Saunders with emphasis to call 
me down. The captain did so to-day but in a manner so unlike 
the way intended that the blow finally fell as a mere kindly 
suggestion. There were no drills to-day. The state encamp- 
ment of the Second and Fourth Regiments, C. N. G., which 
was ordered to begin Monday has been abandoned because of 
the sickness here. This morning we had sausage for breakfast, 
the first meal in three weeks to taste good to me. 

Sunday, September ii. Weather still fine. The usual 
Sunday sink had to be dug to-day, down near tide water. This 
afternoon I took a walk over by the railroad track and fell 
sound asleep on the rocks near the water. To-night we pinched 
some mattresses as well as floors from the Second Regiment 
mess house and slept much warmer. This was the Sunday 
letter referred to yesterday : 

" In The Courant of Saturday mention was made of tlie 
fact that the First Regiment, which is now nicely located on 
new green turf on the south side of the camp grounds, had 
been ordered to occupy the bare grounds and use the floors 
left by the Third Regiment the day before. Saturday forenoon 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 



1^7 



the execution of the order be|j;an. The twelve companies with 
rakes, shovels and brooms were ordered over there to police 
and clean up the floors and grounds. The men began work, 
but they soon discovered the floors were so full of vermin and 
the grounds in such filthy condition that whole companies quit 
work and without orders returned to their quarters. Other 
companies complained to their officers and upon a personal 
inspection of the floors they at once orderetl the men back. 
Finally Colonel Hammond was notified and he ordered the 
policing to stop till further orders. To what extent the floors 
of the other companies were infested I cannot say, but the 
floors to be slept on by Company K were pretty lively with a 
variety of bugs, lice or vermin of some kind or other. 

Dr. McCook, who throughout our entire tour of dut\' has 
looked after the health of the regiment very closely, issued an 
order Saturday forbidding the men from using two of the four 
regimental sinks. The condition of these was such, he said, as 
to make them unfit for use, except under the most urgent 
necessity. This fact makes itself apparent to the nostrils of any- 
one within a distance of one thousand feet. In fact, while I was 
at work policing the old quarters of the Third Regiment yester- 
day the odor was offensive in the extreme and sleep in such 
quarters even should the bugs below cease their activities, would 
be out of the question. The sinks in question are being cleaned 
out and this accounts for much of the smell in that vicinit)'. 

Passes are now being issued, good for twenty-four hours, t'lve 
a day to each company and the men are gladly availing them- 
selves of the privilege. 

Yesterday all drills were omitted, in accordance with the 
regulations as to Saturdays. The bathing facilities are being 
very generally indulged in and the effect must be to tone up 
the lagging vitality of the men. 

Last night was the coldest night ever spent upon this camp 
ground, in the opinion of old military men. Soon after dark 
the sky became overcast with indications of rain, but it soon 
cleared ofT and blew strong and cold from the north. The men 
were without floors in their tents and many preferred this, so 



3l8 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

long as no rains came, but as the digging of ditches around the 
tents was forbidden (because of the intended change to the 
Third Regiment grounds), memories of last May and the pros- 
pects of getting flooded out again should a storm come were 
not pleasant to contemplate. So the men in groups of two or 
three began silently to steal away in the dark only to return in 
a few minutes with floors " pinched " from the grounds of the 
Second Regiment. These floors had been left on the grounds 
during the afternoon, after the tents over them had been stored 
away in pursuance of the abandonment of the state encamp- 
ment. Some twenty-five of tht.-se floors were taken during the 
evening and no doubt added to the comfort of the men during 
the night, but no one slept warm. This morning at roll call 
those who had no overcoats fell in with their blankets thrown 
over their heads but many a man, by his actions, showed he 
had started a good cold during the night. 

The sick list is daily increasing. In one company of the 
Third Battalion twenty-six men are out of the company street, 
either in the hospital at Hartford or in the regimental hospital 
here. Some are being cared for by friends, near by. In the 
company street several others are unable to perform their regu- 
lar duties. In one of the batteries forty-six men are on the 
sick list out of a total of one hundred and ninety-six. Several 
of the new cases are undoubtedly typhoid. How many new 
cases of typhoid will be traced to our uncalled for detention, 
even lor a week or so, in a fever infected camp?" 

Monday, September 12. I went on guard this morning 
at 8.30 and when I was selected as colonel's orderly I thought 
my time had come. But no reference at all was made by 
Colonel Burdett to my Courant letters. Lieutenant Bronson 
complained about the men pinching mattresses because it made 
extra work for him. Colonel Burdett ordered a guard put over 
the mess house — "a guard with ball cartridges," he said, with 
emphasis. 

Tuesday, September 13. Scene, the colonel's tent. 
Time 8.25 a. m. Officer, approaching: " Is the colonel in?" 
Orderly, in front of tent, saluting: " No. sir. He has gone 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 319 

over to the battery." Another officer, approaching: " Is the 
colonel in?" Another officer, approaching: " Is the colonel 
in? Why, he ordered a meeting of the officers at 8.30." 
Officers all depart. Time, 8.40. Colonel returning, sends orderly 
for first officer. The two officers retire inside the tent. Hand, 
at guard mount, begins to play " The Wayside Cha[)el." The 
colonel comes hurriedly out of the tent, goes close u[) to the 
band and listens. First officer, tires of waiting, leaves. 
Colonel returns to tent. Second officer comes back and goes 
into tent. Band still playing. Colonel bursts out of the tent, 
hurries up to band leader, whispers in his ear. Band leader 
stops band pla}'ing in the middle of a bar. Band leader called 
back to tent by colonel. " I won't have such playing. Who 
is making that discord? Take him out and teach him if it 
takes all the forenoon." Band leader goes back. Band don't 
play any more. Colonel enters tent. Second officer has gone. 
Third officer and first officer come back together. F'irst 
officer waits outside. Orderly sent for second officer. Finally 
at the end of an hour all three officers depart, leaving their 
business with the colonel unfinished. I was the orderly. This 
scene simply illustrates the manner in which business is trans- 
acted at headquarters. 

All the mattresses have been ordered back to the mess 
houses. K had only two fours at drill this morning, out of 
one hundred and six men. " No life, no appetite." This brief 
entry in my diary tells the whole story of my condition. 

Wednesday, September 14. This morning we had 
calisthenics. This afternoon we were allowed to draw new 
mattresses. At dress parade to-night, when the officers 
marched, in single rank, up to the colonel's position, the goat 
followed them at a respectful distance but when the officers, at 
the command, suddenly came to a halt the goat stopped in- 
stantly and involuntarily threw back his head as if he had been 
struck a blow. The performance made the whole regiment 
laugh. My weight is down to 120, 35 pounds off. To-night 
some clam chowder from the restaurant just outside the gate 
tasted eood. This short letter was sent to The Courant to-day : 



320 ■ CHRONOLOGICAL. 

" An illustration, in a small way, of the effects of too 
much red tape occurred here yesterday in the matter of 
mattresses for the men. The nights here are so cold and the 
change from the hot days and nights in that Virginia corn field 
is so sudden and great that the men feel it. A week ago yes- 
terday the thermometer stood at 112 in m}- tent and that was 
not one of the hottest days either. Besides, many of the men 
have not so much fat on their bones as they had a month or 
two ago and it is not so easy to keep warm sleeping on the 
ground. So the men began looking around the night before 
for means of keeping themselves comfortable during the night 
and soon found a lot of mattresses in one of the mess houses. 
These they appropriated to their own uses, without felonious 
intent, however. The next morning there was trouble. 

The mattresses belong to the State of Connecticut; the 
men, to the United States of America. The representatives 
here in camp of the State of Connecticut informed the men that 
they could have the mattresses to sleep on and welcome but 
the men must first ask for them. This request must come 
through regular channels and as it had not the mattresses must 
be returned. The men were ordered to return them forthwith 
and a guard, with ball cartridges, was ordered to be placed 
about the mess houses. 

The fact is most of the members of the First Regiment, 
United States Volunteer Infantry, are still members of the 
Connecticut National Guard, on leave of absence, and as such 
the necessity of first asking for the mattresses would not apply 
to them it would seem with as much force. Still, be that as it 
may, the real objection to the men pinching the mattresses 
to keep the cold from pinching themselves, is that an invoice 
of the number of mattresses woukl have to be made out if a 
request through regular channels was made and this would 
entail considerable additional clerical work upon the quarter- 
master's department, now overworked alread\- in the hurry to 
get home. 

Incidentally it may be mentioned that last evening, as the 
shades of night began to fall, the men began to fall upon that 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 321 

mess house again and <;reat was the number of mattresses 
missing. 

The order for five hours' drilling a day has been cli.mged 
and now onl}' two hours are required of the men. 

Senator Hawley visited camp this afternoon and was taken 
about the grounds by Colonel Morgan, accompanied by 
Colonel Burdett and Lieutenant-Colonel Hammond." 

Thursday, Septenhser 15. This morning K had only 
fourteen men at drill. This afternoon a detail went over to the 
hospital and carried the sick men of the compan)- down to the 
station. Last night Private Fulton was aroused by some 
pounding on our tent and upon the second otTerise, he rushed 
around to the rear in the dark and, giving chase to the offender, 
caught and gave him the "Nelson," whatever that is. The 
fellow who got it knows I guess. 

Friday, September 16. Sergeant DeLamater complains 
of a lame shoulder this morning. The rain fell all the forenoon 
and all drills were omitted. Lately I have been trying to get 
some new life into me by going in swimming twice a day and 
doing the dumb bell drill on the beach. It certainh' is helping 
me some. My letters home have now been reduced to postal 
cards. This I sent to-day: 

" I guess we are in for another Sunday here. I coitld get 

a pass for twenty-lour hours but I'll be d if I ask any 

favors of anyone, now. The accounts of the O. M. D. are in 
such a mess that we cannot see our way out yet and one thou- 
sand two hundred men are being kept here because of the 
inefficiency of a few officers." 

Saturday, September 17. This morning another kitchen 
sink on the side hill had ttj be dug and I was on the detail. 
To-day drills, inspection and parade were all omitted. 

Sunday, September 18. Discipline is getting very lax. 
Recently a pet pigeon made use of Captain Saunders' flag for 
lactrine purposes, " Mrs. Gale" and her family mussed Sergeant 
Henry Huntington's bed and last night Private Gale's new paper 
pail was found to have been used as a United States depository 
without his knowledge or consent. To-day for dinner we had 



322 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

chicken, dumpling, sweet potatoes, bread with butter, coffee, 
with sugar and milk and pie. For supper, rice pudding. 

Monday, SeitemheR 19. I was Xo. i man at the guard 
house to-day. All our guns were turned in this afternoon but 
a few for the guard were re-issued to us. 

Tuesday, September 20. I slept on the floor of the 
guard house last night when off duty but couldn't keep warm. 
When I went on at 3 o'clock this morning, try as I would, 
for two hours I could not keep from shivering. It was the 
coldest two hours I ever passed. At 4.30 it just began to get 
light a little. The guard mount this morning was without arms. 
At 10 the company turned in all equipments. The band and 
regiment paraded and the whole thing was over at 1.30 p. m. 
To-night nine of us went over to Saunder's and had an oyster 
supper. 

Wednesday, September 21. Last night two theolog- 
ical students came down from Hartford to spend a night in 
camp with Corporal Sanderson and Private Fulton. Just be- 
fore taps something seemed to stir Private HoUis to words and 
a stream of eloquence resounded down through the street far 
more profane than sacred. The visitors were dumb-founded 
at the variety of " cus " words Private Hollis had at his com- 
mand and the combinations he made were truly marvelous. 
Later I found that Corporal Pierce was the cause of this out- 
burst of oratory by suggesting to Private Hollis that he enter- 
tain the visitors with a little. Twenty-six members of the 
company are now on the sick list and have been relieved from 
duty. Of my eight tent mates (those with whom 1 have 
tented since leaving Niantic in May) three are in the hospital, 
two others are on the sick list, one is home on sick furlough 
and another is relieved from duty. In the whole company, 
out of one hundred and six men, but three have gone through 
the entire term of service without being sick at one time or 
another. I am one of the three and have not missed a roll call 
nor been relieved from a single duty. 

The last night in camp was one of the old sort, like those 
we had before seeing Camp Alger. The fun began in the 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 323 

afternoon with an onion and potato light between the kitchen 
detail and the street, during which a good share of tlie missiles 
landed in the rear of the major's tent. At retreat the )'elling 
began. During the evening the tents of First Sergeant and 
Sergeant H. L. Huntington were demolished during their 
absence and worse looking wrecks I never saw. After things 
had quieted down a little some of the wreckers began monkey- 
ing with the ropes of our tent. Private Fulton was on the 
alert but I lulled hini to sleep with the promise that I would 
watch out for them. I did so and when all was ready I slipped 
out of the tent and down it came, smothering Private Fulton 
in the ruins. That evens up I told him for the night at 
Portland when he doused me wiih a pail of water. But the 
fun was not all over. Suddenly a cry of fire was heard. We 
had all been waiting for it and every one in K seemed to know, 
without looking, just where the fire was. The row of bath 
houses, long in such a filthy condition that the men had utterly 
refused to use them, were found in flames. The whole regi- 
ment was soon aroused and Company L came down in double 
quick time, in fine shape. There was nothing to do but let 
the thing burn and after letting it burn awhile, the Danbury 
company marched back to their quarters again in good order. 
So did the rest of us, after the last timber had fallen. It was 
a clean job, well done and Trumpeter Camp had the pleasure 
of sounding the "Fire" call in addition to participating in 
other interesting events. 

Thursday, September 22. All hands were up at 5. 
Company M men had been up an hour, then. Tents were struck 
at 6 and then all the borrowed mattresses and spring beds had 
to be returned. We left camp at 9.45 and Niantic at 10.30. 
We were all very happy, but how quiet ! We had been kept 
at Niantic so long, so unnecessarily long, that the pleasure had 
been discounted — our starting for home was very tame indeed. 
Just as we took the train we heard of Private Dimock's death. 
In K he was the first to fall. Tame as our starting was. our wel- 
come home however, was all that we had imagined and more. 
It was great. But what is the use of going into the details of 



324 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

an event so recent and one long to remain vivid in our 
memories. One thing I must mention. We arrived at 
Asylum street at 12.45 and reached the armory soon after i 
o'clock where a luncheon had been provided. Soon after, the 
men began to appear on the streets in citizen's clothes once 
more and then they rushed up to each other and shook hands 
like old friends long parted, forgetting for the instant that they 
had only been away from each other an hour or so. The 
Derby hat that I wore last spring and which just fitted me 
then, now goes down to my ears, so thin had I become. 

This is the last Courant letter: 

" You ask me how it seems to get home. It seems queer ; 
queer, the way those at home greet us. 

"Hello, George," they said, "did you have a good time? " I 
was looking down into Union Place from the railroad platform, 
recalling the memorable Fourth of May when the whole space 
was filled with a pretty array of bright colors, mingled with a 
sea of sad faces bidding us farewell. Often, since, had we re- 
called that scene in Union Place, crowded as it then was with 
all that was dear to us. Now we were permitted to look down 
upon that spot again and though the crowd was not so dense, 
the faces were much brighter. This and much more was run- 
ning through my mind when someone again asked me if I had 
had a good time. 

A good time ! I rubbed my eyes to see if I was awake and 
pulled myself together — what there was left. Thirty-five pounds 
had gone somewhere, to which fact my cheek bones and shrunken 
form prominently testified. 

" Well, Frank, have you enjoyed yourself since you have 
been away?" There it was again. Had we all been away on 
some vacation or moonlight excursion? It could hardly have 
been a moonlight excursion, for nothing but the sun, and a 
southern sun at that, could have melted the meat off men 
like us. 

" Hello, Will. That's a good color on your face. Guess 
out-of-door lite agreed with you." A good color in our faces ! 
The last two weeks of sea air at Niantic may have falsely 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 325 

painted that for us, but the wasted forms beneath, we knew, 
were still full of malaria. 

So it went, along Ford, up Pearl, tiirough Trumbull street 
to Main — everywhere the one thought prominent in the minds 
of those at home was, " Have you enjoyed yourselves? Did 
you have a good time? " as if we were returning home from some 
grand excursion — a party of Cook's tourists. Iwen the good, 
old faithful Courant, in welcoming us back to Connecticut 
soil, mentioned the fact that, if nothing else, we had at least 
seen a good deal of our own country. Everywhere it was the 
same picnic idea. 

"Yes," said a member of Company K to Sergeant Beebe 
one day down at Camp Alger, after coming in from one of 
those lively skirmish drills, under the hot sun and in the dust 
and filth, "you told me up in the armory that if I would join 
Company K I would have a hell of a time and sure. I'm having 
it now, ain't I ? " 

And, as soon as we could get out of our uniforms and 
appear on the street in civilian's clothes, modestly ready to be 
congratulated upon even the inconspicuous part we had taken 
in the grand result of the war, this is the way intelligent men 
met us : 

"Well, I'm glad to see you back, alive. It's a wonder you 
are, the way things were managed. This whole business has 
sort of been mismanaged from the start. To begin with, your 
rations, they tell me, were not fit for a dcg and not half enougli 
of them either." 

"But," I remonstrated feebly, for the malaria will take the 
fight out of any man, "we, in our company, had three square 
meals a day issued to us and it was well cooked, too." 

"Well, that may be, in your case," replied this military 
critic dubiously, " but those fellows out in Nebraska tell a 
different story." 

The next man to analyze the inefficiency of the War de- 
partment began thus: " Let's see, you have been at Niantic all 
summer. Well, you're lucky not to have been sent to Cuba, 
for that Santiago expedition was a failure from beginning to 



326 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

end. Richard Harding Davis says so. He says the thing to 
do, when Sampson found the forts, mines and torpedoes at the 
entrance of the harbor made it impossible for him to get at 
Cervera, was for Shafter to take these forts and things at the 
point of the bayonet. If Shafter had done this, Cervera would 
not have escaped." 

"But Cervera didn't escape very much, did he?" I inter- 
posed mildly, " and we heard Santiago had surrendered with 
an army twice as big as Shafter's." 

" So it has, but Spain dictated the terms to us." 

A third critic, who met us with failure on his lips, 
announced, " I have watched the course of events during this 
war very closely and have come to the conclusion that it is 
one stupendous blunder." 

" But we licked them, didn't we? " 

" Y-yes, but that was a mistake." 

You ask nie how it seems to get home and be met by 
such greetings and such arguments as these? So far as the 
prevalence of the picnic idea exists, it maybe natural enough. 
The First Regiment, when it was split up in May and dis- 
tributed along the New England coast, did have a picnic, for a 
time. But that did not last, at least the picnic experience, 
though the picnic idea continued to prevail at home, just the 
same. Where Camp Alger was, very few of us, even in the 
regiment, knew, and fewer at home possibly took the trouble 
to find out. Camp Thomas and Chickamauga Park had been 
pictured as such a beautiful spot, a paradise in fact, that 
probably Camp Alger in Virginia was considered a counter- 
part of it — a Garden of Eden annex. How far these impres- 
sions were, though, from the facts as we found them ! 

A single reference to the official reports will show how 
these camps failed to become the ideal picnic grounds ex- 
pected. Since these two camps were established, nearly six 
hundred volunteers have died in them ; more than twice the 
number killed in the battles at and around Santiago. In the 
light of these official figures, the people at home ought to 
begin to realize that the First Regiment has had no picnic this 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 327 

past suiTimer; that it has, in fact, encountered as great peril in 
the typhoid germ as other regiments have in the Mauser bullet. 
The crowded wards at the Hartford Hospital and the (ever 
patients in many anxious homes indicate that the experience 
of the men, at least, has not been conducive to their good 
health and now, in the presence of these newly made mounds in 
Hartford, Rockville, New Britain and other places from which 
the First Regiment drew its life and young blood, let us hope 
this picnic idea will soon vanish away — vanish as quickly as 
the sound of the volleys being fired over the graves dies away 
after the word of command, leaving the low notes of that 
beautiful bugle call to remind us all, that another and still 
another member of the First Regiment, as the result of its out- 
going in May, has returned in September only to have the 
sweet music of the soldier's " Good-night " sounded in his 
deaf ears. 

As for these tales of inefficiency, incompetency and failure 
that meet us on our return home, consider for a moment to 
whom they were addressed. Every man of us during our 
absence had grown to feel that he was a part, more and more, 
of one great whole, one grand army, and that its success or its 
failure was in part, his own success or failure — the capture of 
Manila was his, the suffering at Santiago his own. And if such 
mistakes have occurred and such mismanagement taken place, 
let those who were the first to suffer be those who shall first 
complain. If only the soldier who suffered complained, how few 
complaints would there be, for the American soldier does not 
complain — he is made of different stuff. But if such glorious 
results, which none can deny, have been brought about by a 
series of such stupendous blunders, then thank God for the 
blunders. 

The First Regiment, to be sure, did not see active service 
nor was it to be expected that in a three months' war the 
whole army would reach the firing line. Some must act as the 
support and others must take their places in the reserve. All 
are necessary. No, the First Regiment did not even hear a 
hostile shot, but whether we formed a part of the firing line or 



328 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

were ordered to take our place with the reserve, whether we 
stopped Mauser bullets or took in typhoid germs, whether or 
not we failed even to see a live Spaniard, Spain and I doubt 
not other European countries, jealous of our territorial increase, 
but awed into respectful acquiescence nevertheless by the grand 
spectacle, saw us, two hundred thousand of us, all armed and 
equipped ready and eager to move up to the firing line and if 
necessary take a more active part in a war so completely success- 
ful, in the end, that few instances of like character are found re- 
corded in history. Who would not feel proud as indeed we all 
do, to return home, after even such slight service, rendered in 
answer to the call of the President of the best government and 
in furtherance of the general welfare of the best people upon 
the face of this earth?" 

Friday, October 21. The thirty days furlough is 
ended and we came together at the Elm Street armory at 8 
o'clock this morning for final examination and muster out. 
And O, how it makes me feel to meet all the boys again I I 
have been away, up in the White Mountains, since our return 
from Niantic and have seen none of them during our furlough. 
But now that I have met them again after even so short an 
absence a new experience has come into my life. A college 
class reunion isn't in it. On those occasions the impulse is to 
yell and hurrah. Now, I just want to put my arms around 
their necks and cry. The love of a husband for his wife, of a 
brother for his sister, is one thing but this is far different. Now 
I know, only in part perhaps, the feeling which I have heard 
old veterans try to explain when they meet at their reunions — 
the feeling which ties their tongues and can only find expres- 
sion in a loving embrace and a flood of tears. To experience 
this, to know even in a lesser degree, the feeling those old 
veterans have for each other, is worth all it has cost and 
more, far more. Roll calls at 8.30, 1 1.30, 1.30 and 4.30 daily. 

Monday, October 24. Company K went through the 
physical examinations to-day. 

Thursday, October 27. Muster roll signed to-day. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 329 

Friday, October 28. Haml concert for benefit of the 
sick at Foot Guard Hall. 

Saturday, October 29. Hantjuet at liall's restaurant 
at the expense of the ration fund. 

Monday, October 31. Private Tinkham and m\self 
were orderlies to Captains Walter Howe and John P. Wisser, 
mustering out officers. We carried the muster rolls when the 
regiment was called out upon the armory floor. K was the 
first company mustered out, the members present answering 
to their names and stepping two or three paces to the front. 
This was at 2.30 p. m. The company, upon being mustered 
out, marched out of the armory and assembled in front where 
Captain Saunders made a short address. Company F made 
the finest appearance on the floor, the men being lined up in 
alphabetical order. As they stepped to the front the line 
remained broken only at one point and the effect was a 
marked improvement on the broken lines of the other com- 
panies. I remained on duty till 5.30 and was the last enlisted 
man in the company, if not in the regiment, (the sick men ex- 
cepted) to be relieved from dut\'. 

Monday, November 7. Compan>' K was paid off, the 
$5.65 over-pay from the State of Connecticut during the month 
of May last, first being deducted. 



Dates and Events. 

War between the United States and Spain began April 21, 
1898, that date being named in an act of Congress passed on 
April 25, declaring that a state of war existed. Spain issued 
a declaration of war on April 24. Hostilities ended with the 
signing of the protocol by the Secretary of State for the United 
States and M. Cambon, the French Ambassador, acting for 
Spain, on August 12, 1898. The war lasted 114 days. The 
principal events preceding and during the war and the dates 
on which they occurred are as follows : 

February 15 — The United States battleship Maine was blown 
up in the harbor of Havana. According to the report 
of the Court of Inquiry appointed by the United States, 
the explosion was due to an external mine. 
April 20 — President McKinley, authorized by Congress to in- 
tervene in Cuba, using the United States military and 
naval forces, sent an ultimatum to Spain. The Spanish 
Minister at once left Washington and the next day the 
United States Minister left Madrid. 
April 22 — A proclamation was issued by the President block- 
ading the principal ports of Cuba. 
April 23 — President McKinley issued a call for 125,000 vol- 
unteers to serve for two years. 
April 27 — The batteries of Matanzas, Cuba, were shelled by 
Admiral Sampson's flagship, the New York, with the 
monitor Puritan and the cruiser Cincinnati. 
April 29 — The Spanish fleet, commanded by Admiral Cervera, 
consisting of the Christobal Colon, the Almirante Oquen- 
do, the Maria Teresa and the Vizcaya, and the Furor, 
Terror and Pluton. left the Cape Verde Islands 
for Cuba. 
M.W I — Rear- Admiral Uewey, commanding the United States 
Asiatic Squadron, destroyed the entire Spanish fleet 
in the Philippines without losing a man. 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 33 1 

May II — The Wilmington, Winslovv and Hudson engaged the 
Spanish batteries at Cardenas. Ensign Hagley and 
four of the VVinslow's crew were killed. Major-General 
Wesley Merritt was ordered to the Philippines as mili- 
tary governor. 

May 12 — A United States fleet, commanded by Rear- Admiral 
Sampson, bombarded the fortifications of San Juan, 
Porto Rico. 

May 19 — Admiral Cervera's fleet reached Santiago de Cuba 
and a few days later was "bottled up" there by the 
" flying squadron " of Commodore Schley. 

May 25 — President McKinley called for 75,000 more volun- 
teers. Twenty-five hundred United States troops sailed 
from San Francisco for Manila, several thousand more 
following later. 

May 31 — The Massachusetts, Iowa and New Orleans bombard- 
ed the fortifications at the mouth of Santiago harbor. 
They were bombarded again several times after Admiral 
vSampson took command of the fleet. 

June 3 — Assistant Naval Constructor Hobson with seven men 
ran the collier Merrimac into Santiago harbor and sank 
her in the channel, under the fire from the Spanish forts. 
Hobson and his men were taken prisoners. 

June 10 — Six hundred marines were landed at Caimanera, 
Guantanamo Bay, where sharp skirmishing continued 
for several days, several Americans being killed. 

June 12 — The Fifth Army Corps, commanded by Brigadier- 
General Shafter, sailed from Tampa on twenty-nine trans- 
ports for Santiago, arriving off there on June 20. 

June 13 — President McKinley signed the War Revenue bill, 
providing for the raising of revenues by a stamp tax and 
providing for a popular bond loan. 

June 17 — A Spanish fleet under Admiral C^mara left Cadiz for 
the Philippines, but returned after passing through the 
Suez Canal. 

June 22 — General Shafter's troops began disembarking at 
Daiquiri and Siboney, near Santiago. 



332 CHRONOLOGICAL. 

June 24 — Roosevelt's Rough Riders were attacked while ad- 
vancing towards Santiago; sixteen Americans were 
killed and forty more wounded before the Spaniards 
were repulsed. 

July i — General Lawton took El Caney, near Santiago, and 
General Kent, commanding the first division of the Fifth 
Army Corps, which included the Second, Sixth, Ninth, 
Tenth, Thirteenth, Sixteenth and Twenty-fourth infantry 
and the Seventy-first New York Volunteers, took San 
Juan Hill after heavy fighting. Official reports gave the 
American losses 231 killed and 1,364 wounded and 
missing. 

July 3 — Admiral Cervera's squadron made a dash out of 
Santiago Harbor, and every vessel was sunk or disabled 
by the American fleet. General Shafter demanded 
the surrender of Santiago. The seizure of Guam, 
in the Ladrone Islands, by the Charleston, was 
reported. 

July 7 — President McKinley signed resolutions passed by the 
Senate annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United 
States and the Philadelphia was ordered to Honolulu 
to raise the American flag. 

July 17 — General Toral, in command of the Spanish troops 
at Santiago, General Linares being wounded, sur- 
rendered his forces and the eastern portion of the pro- 
vince of Santiago de Cuba to General Shafter. 

July 20 — General Leonard R. Wood, formerly colonel of the 
Firsl Volunteer cavalry, was appointed Military Gov- 
ernor of Santiago. 

July 25 — United States troops, under General Nelson A. 
Miles, landed at Guanica, Porto Rico, the town having 
surrendered to the Gloucester after a few shots. 

July 26 — Through the French Ambassador, the government 
of Spain asked President McKinley upon what terms he 
would consent to peace. 

July 28 — Ponce, the second largest city in Porto Rico, sur- 
rendered to General Miles and he was received by the 



CHRONOLOGICAL. 333 

residents with joyful acclamations. Capture of several 
other towns, with little or no fighting, followed. 

July 30 — President McKinley's statement of the terms on 
which he would agree to end the war was given to the 
French Ambassador. The President demanded the 
independence of Cuba, cession of Porto Rico and one 
of the Ladrones to the United States and the retention 
of Manila by the United States pending the final dispo- 
sition of the Philippines by a joint commission. 

July 31 — United States troops engaged the Spaniards at 
Malate, near Manila, in the Philippines, and repulsed 
them, with some loss on both sides. 

August 9 — The French Ambassador presented to President 
McKinley, Spain's reply, accepting his terms of peace. 

August 12 — Protocols agreeing as to the preliminaries for a 
treaty of peace were signed by Secretary Day and the 
French Ambassador. Untited States military and 
naval commanders were ordered to cease hostilities. 
The blockades of Cuba, Porto Rico and Manila were 
lifted and the war was ended. 



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